Asian shares tumble, dollar wavers on Fed uncertainty

 Asian shares skidded to six-week lows and the dollar wobbled on Wednesday as investors pondered mixed signals from U.S. Federal Reserve officials about when the U.S. central bank would start to pare its asset-buying stimulus.

Chinese shares got off to a rocky start, after the initial communique from a key Communist Party policy meeting to set a blueprint for the coming decade's reform agenda offered them few concrete details.

Chinese Internet company Sina Corp reported profit in the third quarter more than doubled from a year ago, due to strong revenue growth from its Weibo microblogging service.

U.S. listed shares of Sina were up 3.6 percent at $78.65 in after-hours trading on Tuesday.

In the three months ended September 30, Sina's adjusted net revenue increased 22 percent from a year ago to $179.9 million. Weibo advertising revenues grew 125 percent in the third quarter.

Sina posted net income of $25.4 million, or 37 cents per share, versus $9.9 million, or 14 cents per share, in the year-ago period.

Excluding certain items, Sina said it earned 42 cents per share.

Sina said that it expected adjusted net revenue to range between $190 million and $194 million in the fourth quarter.

Source: Reuters

Dutch Prime Minister says China is becoming a major player on the world stage

China is becoming a major player on the world stage, said Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, who will pay a two-day visit to China on Friday.

"I believe China can play a positive role in many big issues on a world scale. The issues in Europe, I know that China is willing to do that, is trying to do that, in the debt crisis in Europe," Rutte told Xinhua in an interview.

"With the unprecedented and large scale growth of the Chinese economy, China clearly is on his way to become a major player on the world stage," he said. "I am very much looking forward to engaging with the Chinese leadership" to see how bilateral relationship can help to further build our perspective roles in the world.

The 46-year-old prime minister described China and the Netherlands are "strong partners," believing that they could work together to face many important issues.

Rutte said he was also very much looking forward to his visit to China, noting "this will be a political mission together with a trade mission, we will have many large companies traveling with us."

"I believe this visit should focus on the main areas of our relationship, which are cultural, historical and political and obviously trade and economy," he said.

According to the latest statistics, bilateral economic trade between China and the Netherlands reached around 68 billion U.S. dollars in 2012. The Netherlands has been China's second-biggest trade partner in the European Union for ten consecutive years.

Lauding bilateral trade relations as good, Rutte said "there are more possibilities to explore."

"We have already laid a lot of contacts in the agricultural industry, but I think that we should build on these contacts more and explore other opportunities too," he said. "That is exactly what I would like to reach with my visit."

China rejects Geneva II preconditions

China on Tuesday called for all parties to participate in the Geneva II conference "without setting preconditions" and end Syrias's conflict.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang made the comment after the Syrian opposition, the Syrian National Coalition (SNC), agreed on Monday to attend the Geneva peace conference, but with conditions.

China has always maintained that a political solution is the only way out of the Syria issue, which is also the common understanding of the international community, Qin said at a daily news briefing.

"It is imperative for all parties to back the mediation effort of UN Secretary-GeneralBanKi-moon and UN-Arab League Joint Special Representative for Syria, Lakhdar Brahimi, facilitating and participating in the Geneva II conference without any preconditions," Qin said.

Any party can raise their political stand, proposals or appeals at the conference, Qin said.

He hoped the conference would map out the next step for the political process in Syria and bring peace and stability at an early date.

The United States and Russia are trying to convene the talks in Geneva by the end of this year with the aim of ending the 31-month conflict in Syria.

Source: Xinhua

China urges Japan to improve bilateral ties

China on Tuesday urged the Japanese government to heed advice to improve bilateral ties through concrete action.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang made the remarks at a daily news briefing in response to a speech made by former Japanese prime minister Yasuo Fukuda on Monday urging Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to improve ties with China and the Republic of Korea.

Also on Monday, former Japanese politicians and honorary professors established a group to uphold former prime minister Tomiichi Murayama's speech and reflect on aggression and colonial behavior during World War II.

The China-Japan relationship has serious issues, said Qin. "This is not caused by China, and China does not enjoy it."

He said China knew that many ordinary people in Japan were concerned about the situation and made suggestions to the government.

"Good advice, like medicine, is hard to take," Qin said.

China has always advocated that the two nations should work on the basis of the four political documents between China and Japan and in the spirit of "taking history as a mirror and facing towards the future" to handle the issues in bilateral relations.

China would like to work with persons of insight in Japan to develop bilateral ties, Qin added.

Former Japanese prime minister Tomiichi Murayama stated on Aug. 15, 1995 that Japan, through colonial rule and aggression had caused great damage and suffering to people of many countries, particularly in Asia, and no such mistake should be made in the future. He expressed his personal remorse and gave a heartfelt apology.

As to the issues in Murayama's speech, Abe has changed his view many times since his second term began last December, and his capriciousness has brought fierce criticism from countries which suffered Japan's past aggression.

Source: Xinhua

CPC announces decision on comprehensive reform

The 18th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) on Tuesday approved a decision on "major issues concerning comprehensively deepening reforms" at the close of their four-day meeting.

Entrusted by the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee,Xi Jinping, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, delivered a work report to the third Plenary Session of the 18th CPC Central Committee, held from Nov. 9 to 12 in Beijing.

The general objective of the approved reforms is to improve and develop socialism with Chinese characteristics and push on with modernization of the country's governing system and capabilities, according to the communique issued after the session.

China must build on the paramount reality that it remains in the primary stage of socialism and will long remain so while pursuing comprehensive, deeper reform. China must stick to the strategic judgement that development is still the key to solving all problems in China, the communique said.

It is most important to adhere to the leadership of the CPC, it said.

Economic reform is key, and the core solution is the proper relationship between the government and the market, leaving the market to play the decisive role in allocation of resources and the government to play a better role, it said.

Decisive results must be achieved in key sectors, and a well-developed, scientific, procedure-based and effective framework must be in place by 2020 to ensure institutions in all sectors be more mature, according to the communique.

China will stick to the dominant role of public ownership, playing the leading role of the state-owned economy, while encouraging, supporting and guiding the non-public sector, enhancing its vitality and creativity, it said.

A united and open market system with orderly competition will be built so that the market will play a "decisive" role in allocating resources, according to the communique.

Government functions must be transformed in a manner to build a law-based and service-oriented government.

The reform also includes building a modern fiscal system that supports the initiative of both central and local governments.

China aims to improve a new type of relations between industry and agriculture and between urban and rural areas.

China will lower the investment threshold, step up the development of free trade zones and increase opening-up of inland, coastal and border areas.

Greater importance will be attached to perfecting a democratic system and enriching democratic forms to show the advantages of China's socialist political system.

China will deepen judicial system reform and step up building a socialist judicial system that features justice, high efficiency and authority to uphold the rights and interests of the people.

Power must be supervised by the people and exercised transparently.

China will follow the development path of a socialist culture with Chinese characteristics.

Reforms must be accelerated in the social sector including education, employment, income distribution, social security and public health.

The country will establish a state security committee, improving systems and strategies to ensure national security, according to the communique which called for the innovation of systems to effectively prevent and end social disputes and improve public security.

The communique also urged building of a comprehensive system for ecological progress that protects the environment.

Modern armed forces with Chinese characteristics will be built, the communique said.

The CPC will set up a central leading team for "comprehensively deepening reform." It will be in charge of designing reform, arranging and coordinating reform, pushing forward reform and supervising the implementation of plans.

A total of 204 full members and 169 alternate members of the CPC Central Committee attended the plenum.

Standing committee members of CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, leading officials from relevant departments, some grassroots-level delegates to the 18th CPC National Congress as well as experts and scholars were also present at the plenary session as non-voting delegates.

Source: Xinhua

The Communist Party of China acknowledges market's "decisive" role

The Communist Party of China (CPC) has acknowledged the market's "decisive" role in allocating resources, according to a communique issued after its key session about reform.

China will deepen its economic reform to ensure that the market will play a "decisive" role in allocating resources, according to the communique after the four-day Third Plenary Session of the 18th CPC Central Committee, which closed on Tuesday.

The market had been defined as a "basic" role in allocating resources since the country decided to build a socialist market economy in 1992.

For quite a long time after 1949, the idea of market had been a taboo associated with capitalism.

Even after the reform and opening up in 1978, the country had struggled to define the market and some dogmatists still questioned whether socialism could accommodate the market economy.

It was not until the 14th CPC National Congress held in 1992 that a socialist market economy became a consensus. At the Third Plenary Session of the 14th CPC Central Committee, the Party agreed that the market, under state macroeconomic control, should be the basic means of allocating resources.

Prof. Xie Chuntao, with the Party School of the CPC Central Committee, told Xinhua that the definition of market in Tuesday's document showed the Party's in-depth understanding of what the market economy is and what role the government should play.

Tuesday's document also acknowledged that the core of economic reform is the proper relationship between government and market.

"The reform should let the market play a decisive role in allocation of resources and the government better serve its duty," the document said.

To let the market decide the allocation of resources, the primary task is to build an open and unified market with orderly competition, according to the document.

Land in cities and the countryside, which can be used for construction, will be pooled in one market, it said.

Under a modern market system, businesses should be allowed to operate independently and compete fairly while consumers should be free to choose and spend. Also, merchandise can be traded freely and equally, the document said.

In the document, the CPC pledged to clear barriers in the market and improve the efficiency and fairness in the allocation of resources. It will also create fair, open and transparent market rules and improve the market price mechanism.

While upgrading the role of the market, the CPC will transform government functions and improve the macro-regulatory system and governance.

It will deepen reforms of the administrative system, innovate with administrative methods and enhance the credibility and execution of the government.

The CPC leadership, taking office last November, has made important moves to allow dynamism of the market.

   Source: Xinhua

Beaujolais bath marks Japan as benchmark for new vintage

Le Beaujolais Nouveau est arrive! Or at least, the inaugural shipment of this year's batch touched down last week in Japan, the biggest buyer of the fruity red wine. It's also the first market of note that will begin the business of drinking the stuff in eight days' time.

With Japan accounting for more than half of overseas sales, the scale of post-party hangovers will be a barometer for the central French region's most famous vintage. While Japanese imports gained 10 percent a year over the past three years, volumes remain about a third off their 2004 peak, and a weaker yen is creating headwinds for this year's crop.

"We would be happy for the volume to gain 10 percent once more, but at least, we expect sales to be stable," said Aurelie Vabre, a spokeswoman for Inter Beaujolais, a Villefranche-sur-Saone-based group representing producers.

The Japanese turned crazy for the vintage in the late 1980s, when France let bottles of the weeks-old and barely fermented wine be shipped and stored overseas in advance of the release date at midnight on the third Thursday of November. That meant Japanese consumers were among the first to taste the new vintage, sparking a craze that will see about 8 million bottles quaffed this year in the country.

Source: NewsOnJapan

China advances diverse forms of ownership

China is to promote an economy with diverse forms of ownership, according to the communique issued after a key meeting of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee.

"Both public and non-public sectors of the economy are important components of the socialist market economy and significant bases for economic and social development," reads the statement released after the third plenary session of the 18th CPC Central Committee closed on Tuesday.

Development in the non-public sector will be encouraged which will in turn stimulate vitality and creativity in the whole economy, the document says, while maintaining the dominance of the public sector.

The property rights protection system will be improved and state-owned enterprises will adhere to modern corporate practices, supporting healthy development in the non-public economy.

Source: Xinhua

China to establish modern financial system

A modern fiscal system that supports the initiative of both central and local authorities should be set up, said a communique issued Tuesday after a key meeting of the Communist Party of China (CPC).

China needs to improve its budget management and taxation systems in a bid to make responsibilities of government agencies match properly with what they spend, the communique said.

It is essential that China improves related legislation, ascertains government bodies' responsibilities, reforms the taxation system and ensures budgeting is transparent, it said.

A proper fiscal system provides institutional guarantee for optimized allocation of resources, social equality and long-term stability, the document added.

The document was adopted by the third Plenary Session of the 18th CPC Central Committee held from Nov. 9 to 12 in Beijing.

Source: Xinhua

Caroline Kennedy sworn in as Japan ambassador

Caroline Kennedy, the daughter of the late President John F. Kennedy and Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, was sworn in as the new ambassador to Japan on Tuesday at the State Department.

Kennedy was accompanied by her son John, husband Ed Schlossberg, and cousin Maria Shriver.During her confirmation hearing in September, Kennedy said she was "humbled to be following in the footsteps of some strong people," adding that she would "try to live up to the standard they set."
As Kennedy gets ready to depart for Tokyo, the nation is set to commemorate the 50th anniversary of her father's assassination in Dallas on Nov. 22, 1963.

Source: NewsOnJapan

Travel. Best Small Operator. Tailor Made Holidays

Best Small Operator 2013

Mckinlay Kidd

Whether you’re looking for a luxury treat for a special occasion, the perfect honeymoon in Scotland,  a once-in-a-lifetime exploration of Scotland, or simply a week’s escape to the tranquillity and beauty of the Scottish highlands and islands, no-one knows the hidden gems and highlights of Scotland better than we do at McKinlay Kidd. We specialise in creating unique, tailor made holidays, and can even help to organise locations for small, intimate weddings.

If you are looking for an unusual present, we offer gift certificates which can be used towards any of our Scottish holidays. Our tailor-made service is also ideal for groups or corporate events.

McKinlay Kidd have been arranging tailor made holidays in Scotland for ten years now, and in that time we have won a number of awards.  We have been voted "Best Small Tour Operator" in the Guardian/Observer Travel Awards for the past two years - this means a lot as it is based on the experiences of customers.  We are also competing against UK tour operators who organise tailormade holidays throughout the world in more "exotic" locations.  For the time being, we are happy to concentrate on helping you to see Scotland and Ireland differently - there is so much to explore here and so many hidden gems for us to share!  We are always discovering new holiday experiences and places to stay, and we insist that any recommendation is personally tried and tested.  Quite simply, we won't send you somewhere we haven't been ourselves.  It's this personal approach that means every McKinlay Kidd holiday is uniquely memorable.  It's an approach that has won both awards and the hearts of customers.

  To discuss your tailormade Scottish holiday requirements, or fill in the tailor made holidays enquiry form. We will prepare a no-obligation personal holiday proposal for you to consider, then work with you to make sure it’s just right before you book.

Source: seescotlanddifferently; theguardian

Flush with fuel, China targets new markets from Africa to Australia

From Africa to Australia, Chinese refiners are exploring new markets to ship surplus oil products such as jet fuel and diesel, putting them on track to compete with global trading houses and refining centers such as Singapore.

The switch to being a growing exporter of fuel comes despiteChina recently becoming the world's largest net oil importer. The opening of more refineries to process oil has emerged just as the world's second-biggest economy shifts down a gear so there is less demand for some transport and industrial fuels, which are more sensitive to the pace of growth.

This has driven China's biggest refiner Sinopec Corp and its domestic rivals to look outside traditional markets, such as Vietnam and Hong Kong, to sell surplus cargoes, sources close to the matter said.

Chinese diesel exports could reach 3.7 million barrels a month by next year, traders said, more than double the average so far in 2013.

This sharp turnaround could mean refining margins in Asia are squeezed by the new supply, which could also make prices of fuel exports cheaper. The increased shipments come just as new refineries are also coming on stream in the Middle East next year and with higher U.S. exports.

China's refining capacity was close to 12 million barrels per day by the end of 2012 and is set to grow by about 3 million bpd between 2013 and 2015, according to industry officials and media, more than double India's capacity.

Overall fuel demand in China was about 9.79 million bpd last month, according to Reuters calculations based on preliminary government data.

Demand for gasoline and diesel is set to rise by 617,000 bpd and 718,000 bpd, respectively, over the next five years, according to estimates by JBC Energy.

China's economic growth target of 7.5 percent for 2013 would be the weakest in more than 20 years, slowing demand growth for diesel, used in factories and for heavy vehicles. Gasoline demand has held up better, supported by rapid growth in car ownership.

Sinopec is targeting new markets in Africa,Australia,Asia and Canada

Source: Reuters

PETROBRAS STARTED YESTERDAY PRODUCTION AT PAPA TERRA FIELD

Rio de Janeiro, November 12^th, 2013 – Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. – Petrobras announces that it started yesterday, November 11^th, production at Papa Terra field, located at the south of Campos Basin, with platform P-63, which is connected to well PPT-12.

The FPSO (Floating Production Storage and Offloading) platform is anchored at a water depth of 1,200 meters and has the capacity to process 140,000 barrels of oil per day, compress 1,000,000 m³ of gas and inject 340,000 barrels of water. It is the first production system to be installed at Papa Terra.

The new FPSO comprises a set of production projects planned for this year as provided in the Business and Management Plan 2013-2017. The combination of reservoirs with oil varying from 14 to 17 degrees API and the deep waters made of Papa Terra one of the most challenging projects ever conceived by Petrobras, requiring the application of many innovative solutions.

Besides FPSO P-63, which will be connected to 5 production and 11 injection wells, the TLWP platform P-61 (Tension Leg Wellhead Platform) will also operate in the area. P-61, which will be connected to 13 production wells, is the first TLWP to operate in Brazil and will be towed to the location this month.

P-63 wells will be connected using flexible subsea pipes with electric heating, known as IPB (Integrated Production Bundle) and P-61 will use dry completion, which means that well controlling valves are located at the top of the platform rather than in the bottom of the sea. All 18 production wells will have centrifuge submersible pumps. The output of P-61 will be transferred in a multiphase flow to FPSO P-63.

P-61 will also have a TAD (Tender Assisted Drilling) support rig, which will be towed from China in the coming days. The oil will be offloaded through shuttle tankers and the gas not consumed on the production units will be reinjected in an adjacent reservoir.

The project is being developed by Petrobras (operator) in partnership with Chevron, with stakes of 62.5% and 37.5%, respectively, and is 110 km off the Brazilian coast, at a water depth that varies from 400 to 1,400 meters.

P-63 was converted into an FPSO from oil tanker BW Nisa, at the Cosco Shipyard, in China, and the last stages of construction were carried out at Canteiro da QUIP/Honório Bicalho, located in Rio Grande (RS). Work was executed by the consortium formed by Quip (Queiroz Galvão, UTC, Iesa and Camargo Correa) and BW Offshore.

U:S. stock index futures pointed to weakness

China's plan to broaden economic reforms failed to give a lift to world shares on Tuesday as higher U.S. government bond yields and growing talk the Federal Reserve will soon scale back its stimulus weighed on sentiment.

U.S. stock index futures pointed to further weakness ahead on Wall Street where investors were looking for policy clues from a number of Fed speakers. [.N]

China's leaders promised to deepen economic reforms and let markets play a bigger role in resource allocation in a new policy blueprint unveiled at the end of a four-day meeting of key officials from the ruling Communist Party. 

"They are looking to break away from government control, allowing the markets to take the lead," said Dong Tao, chief regional economist for Non-Japan Asia at Credit Suisse.

"This is a revolutionary philosophy, by Chinese standards."

However, the government communique contained little to shift the market's attention away from its preoccupation with the timing of the Fed's next policy steps, prompting world shares to edge lower after two days of gains.

The speculation that the Fed could soon begin to taper its $85 billion-a-month in bond buying has grown since last week's surprisingly strong U.S. jobs data, driving the dollar closer to 100 yen and lifting it toward a two-month peak against a basket of major currencies <.DXY>.

Source: Reuters

ECB Governor Ewald Nowotny makes dovish remarks, leaving to more action from Monetary Authorities

Despite reports that Austrian National Bank Governor Ewald Nowotny was one of six European Central Bank (ECB) officials who voted against last week's rate cut, this ECB Governing Council member made a series of dovish comments on Tuesday, leaving the door open to further action from the Eurozone's monetary authority.

Nowotny indicated that while many central banks have reached the lower bound in interest rates, that's not the case of the ECB, according to a report by FXStreet. The ECB member also warned that stagnation and not inflation was the danger for the Eurozone, noting that while deflation is not imminent, it must be on the minds of central bankers.

Nowotny also reportedly downplayed the differences of opinion over the rate cut, saying that it was more of timing than of substance and denying that there was such a thing as a "North-South" division of opinion. 

The Bank of Austria Governor said that the ECB cut rates because it has a "very clear mandate for price stability". According to the forex site, he reportedly added that "we have low interest rates because we have low inflation rates" and repeated that interest rates are expected to stay as is or lower for an extended period. 

Source:  LiveCharts

ECB member Joerg Asmussen does not rule out a negative deposit rate

European Central Bank Executive Board member Joerg Asmussen said on Tuesday that the European Central Bank (ECB) has not reached the so-called "lower bound" on interest rates.

In a similar vein, in an interview published with the German newspaper Neue Osnabruecker Zeitung, Asmussen refused to rule out the possibility of negative deposit rates.

He added that the ECB's actions will depend on incoming inflation data for the Eurozone.

LiveCharts

Lending slowed sharply in China during October.

Total social financing in China dropped sharply in October, to reach 856.4bn Yuan, according to the latest data out overnight from the People's Bank of China (PBoC), from 1,400bn Yuan in the month before.

The consensus estimate had been for 1,180bn Yuan in total lending. 

In line with the above, new Yuan-denominated loans slipped to 506.1bn Yuan, from 787bn in the month before and versus forecasts for a reading of 600bn. 

Those figures come as authorities in Beijing act to restrain lending by the shadow banking system. 

Money supply expanded at a 14.3% year-on-year pace, as expected. 

"The decline in credit data confirms our view that monetary policy has started to tighten [and is expected to do so further in a gradual way]," Nomura wrote following the release of the data. 

Nevertheless, at the moment the Japanese broker foresees only a small slowdown in economic growth, from the peak reached in the third quarter down towards 7.5% in quarter four and 6.9% next year. 

"We expect the government to cut its GDP growth target for 2014 to 7% from 7.5% for 2013 at the Central Economic Working Conference in December," Nomura added. 

LiveCharts

Banque de France on Tuesday reported that it forecasts growth of 0.4 per cent in the fourth quarter for the Eurozone's second largest economy.

In its business survey from the end of October, France's central bank reported that the business sentiment indicator in the manufacturing industry rose to 99 in October from September's reading.

The index for the service sector remained unchanged at 93. 

"According to the monthly index of business activity, GDP [gross domestic product] is expected to increase by 0.4% in the fourth quarter of 2013," Bank de France said in the report. This is the French central bank's first estimate. 

Source:  LIVEcHARTS

Germany Inflation hit a Three-year low in October

Annual inflation in Germany hit a three-year low in October, with harmonised price rises easing more than consensus estimates and giving further support to the European Central Bank's (ECB) decision last week to cut interest rates. 

The consumer price index (CPI) in Germany rose by 1.2% in October from the same month last year. This marks a slowdown from September's reading of an annual rise of 1.4%. 

The harmonised CPI also rose by 1.2% on the year, dropping from the prior 1.6% and settling below the consensus forecast of a 1.3% rise. 

Month-on-month, the CPI dropped 0.2% from September while the harmonised figure retreated 0.3%.

LiveChart

Oil Futures Climbs as talks with Iran dissipate

Oil futures advanced on Monday as talks between Iran and Western leaders over Iran's nuclear ambitions stalled over the weekend. 

US Secretary of State John Kerry said a nuclear deal between world powers and Iran came extremely close to a breakthrough however three days of negotiations in Geneva failed to achieve an agreement that could ease sanctions on Iran's crude exports. 

The Energy Information Administration said sanctions on Iran reduced the nation's average oil exports to 1.5m barrels a day in 2012 from 2.5m barrels the year earlier.

Sanctions on Iranian crude exports will remain in place but fresh talks are expected to take place later this month. 

Brent crude recovered from Monday's four-month low, tracking crude's advance, rising $1.25 to $106.37 a barrel on the ICE futures exchange. 

Source: LiveCharts

UK's CPI registered a 0.1 per month-on-month gain

The UK's Consumer Prices Index (CPI) registered a 0.1 per cent month-on-month gain (2.2 per cent year-on-year rise) in October, according to the latest data available from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

That was substantially less than the 2.5% which the market consensus had pencilled in, yet similar to the step lower seen in consumer prices during the same month on the other side of the Channel, in the Eurozone.

"The question now will be how the latest inflation figures will factor into tomorrow's Inflation Report. Less inflation as a result of lower petrol prices translates into greater purchasing power for consumers and is definitely a positive for the economy. Furthermore, for a time such a dip in prices could help the MPC accommodate any futures wage pressures. As well, today's drop will probably be seen as a one-off and not as a worrying medium-term development. Nevertheless, the MPC may now have to weigh if it may not be a bit of the latter," comment analysts at Sharecast. 

The largest downward contributions came from transport, which subtracted 0.21 percentage points from the year-on-year rate of change. That was due to the fact that between September and October of this year they fell by 1.5%, instead of 0.1% as in 2012. Prices of motor fuels led the downward movement. 

Education prices rose by 8.2% between September and October 2013, compared with a rise of 19.1% between the same two months in 2012. The effect of that was to lower the year-on-year rate of CPI increases by 0.18 percentage points. 

The CPI had risen by 2.7% in September. 

By categories, and in terms of month-over-month rates of change, the largest drops were to be seen in the prices of furniture and household equipment (-0.6%) and transport (-0.1%). 

If harmonised according to Eurozone practices, then the CPI would have moderated to a 2% clip in the year to October, down from 2.5%.

Source: LiveCharts

Reuters: Egypt is worst Arab state for women, Comoros best - survey

Sexual harassment, high rates of female genital cutting and a surge in violence and Islamist feeling after the Arab Spring uprisings have made Egypt the worst country in the Arab world to be a woman, a poll of gender experts showed on Tuesday.

Discriminatory laws and a spike in trafficking also contributed to Egypt's place at the bottom of a ranking of 22 Arab states, the Thomson Reuters Foundation survey found.

"As the miserable poll results show, we women need a double revolution, one against the various dictators who've ruined our countries and the other against a toxic mix of culture and religion that ruin our lives as women."Egyptian columnist Mona Eltahawy said.

Questions were based on provisions of the U.N. Convention to Eliminate All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), which 19 Arab states have signed or ratified.

The poll assessed violence against women, reproductive rights, treatment of women within the family, their integration into society and attitudes towards a woman's role in politics and the economy.

Egypt scored badly in almost all categories.

Women played a central role in the country's revolution but activists say the rising influence of Islamists, culminating in the election of Muslim Brotherhood leader Mohamed Mursi as president, was a major setback for women's rights.

"The social acceptability of everyday sexual harassment affects every woman in Egypt regardless of age, professional or socio-economic background, marriage status, dress or behaviour," said Noora Flinkman, communications manager at HarassMap, a Cairo-based rights group that campaigns against harassment.

"It limits women's participation in public life. It affects their safety and security, their sense of worth, self-confidence and health."

Respondents also cited high rates of forced marriage and trafficking.

Source: Reuters

China: Who can Stop local Governments anew infrastructure spending on subway systems?

    According to a report published on the Wall Street Journal,"as a fresh team of Chinese leaders gathers this week in Beijing to lay out broad economic goals, the effort to keep China moving has shifted underground, with dozens of cities spending billions of dollars on subway systems.
The amounts involved might ring warning bells that China is bingeing anew on infrastructure spending to drive growth—exactly what many economists say is an unsustainable strategy. But party leaders indicate that metros are different: They create more sustainable growth by making cities more livable, a trend political scientists say could be endorsed at the party meeting.

In the world's most extensive subway-development effort, at least 26 Chinese cities are constructing or expanding lines, according to the government's Transportation Technology Development and Planning Research Center. The think tank counts another 11 cities with urban railway plans.

China's new leaders are increasingly focusing on urbanization, including smarter cities. From an increasingly prosperous citizenry, they face pressure to reduce air pollution, provide housing that is cheap but livable and to unlock consumer spending. Metros dovetail with these quality-of-life challenges because they provide an alternative to cars and add convenience to life at the edges of big cities.

Many economists argue China must move away from megainfrastructure projects. Resources spent with households and smaller businesses in mind, they argue, will create more sustainable growth. Commuter-rail systems promise to free up household cash that might otherwise be spent on cars or expensive addresses downtown.

"The government reasoned that a modern city has a metro," says Jonathan Woetzel, a McKinsey & Co. director in Shanghai who has advised government officials around China on urbanization issues.

McKinsey calculates that more than 100 Chinese cities could conceivably build subway systems, given many have populations exceeding one million inhabitants. As a city grows, Mr. Woetzel says, a subway acts as a "skeleton" for activity and gives town planners ways of "directly improving the lives of the people in a city."

Transportation infrastructure represented about 22% of the $1.76 trillion total indebtedness of Chinese cities in 2010, according to a national audit. Authorities say updated audit figures expected soon will only sharpen concerns governments overstretched to modernize.

McKinsey's Mr. Woetzel agrees with China's urban planners and reasons subway construction will only get more expensive. Mr. Woetzel said the bigger concern is how Chinese cities intend to fund operations.

Fares won't likely pay the bills. New York City's Metropolitan Transportation Authority covered only about 73% of last year's subway expenses from $2.74 billion in fare collection, according to U.S. government figures. Subways in China typically close before midnight and typically charge a fraction of New York's $2.50 base fare: around 2 yuan, or 30 cents.

Subway construction started slowly. Beijing completed its first line in 1969 but took 15 years to open a second. In 1991, the World Bank frowned on a plan to build a subway in Shanghai, then a city congested by 6.5 million bicycles and 200,000 vehicles, mostly trucks.

It is "doubtful that such an expensive mode can be the core of the urban transport system," the Washington-based bank said in a report that suggested "less costly alternatives" such as aboveground light rail, bus lanes and priority for bicycles.

Shanghai ignored the advice. Two years later, it inaugurated Subway Line 1 and then built 12 more lines—hopscotching with Beijing to claim the world's longest system. With a million private cars on the road today in Shanghai, emphasis has shifted toward integrating the city's most distant points into the subway, including beyond municipal borders such as the extension to Kunshan.

Mexico's Reform of Telecom's Sector

Mexico's new telecommunications watchdog said on Monday it may identify this month which companies dominate the local market, likely paving the way for tougher regulation against telecom company America Movil and broadcaster Televisa.

Billionaire Carlos Slim's telecommunications company, America Movil, controls 70 percent of the mobile phone market, and about 80 percent of the fixed-line business, while Televisa has more than 60 percent of the TV market.

Nurturing competition in the telecom industry is one of the main priorities of President Enrique Pena Nieto, who earlier this year pushed a reform through Congress that gives the regulator sweeping powers to shake up the market.

The reform stipulates that players with a market share of more than 50 percent will be declared "predominant".

America Movil, which in Mexico provides mobile services with the Telcel brand and fixed lines under the name Telmex, has already said it expects to be declared dominant.

Those companies may be subject to asymmetric regulation, forced to share infrastructure with competitors - and may even be broken up by the IFT, according to the new laws.

Slim and Televisa have spent years battling efforts to impose tougher rules on how they operate, using legal injunctions and appeals to thwart regulators. Much of that legal cover has been swept away by the new reform.

Source:  Reuters