Stronger-than-expected Germany and France nudge up euro zone growth

Slightly stronger-than-expected growth in Germany and France pushed the euro zone's recovery up a gear in the fourth quarter and offered potential for a more robust 2014, albeit with risks.

Data on Friday showed the euro zone economy rose by 0.3 percent in the three month to December compared with the previous quarter. This slightly exceeded market expectations for a 0.2 percent expansion. 

The 9.5 trillion euro economy had already emerged in the second quarter from its longest recession since the introduction of the single currency, but record high unemployment, external economic risks, fiscal austerity and low inflation have kept a lid on the rebound.

The EU's statistics office will publish a detailed breakdown on March 5, but analysts said the fourth-quarter growth was mainly driven by exports and investment.

A positive signal was that for the first time in almost three years all of the six largest euro zone economies recorded quarterly expansions.

Germany, the European's largest economy, saw its growth accelerating to 0.4 percent on the quarter thanks to a rise in exports and capital investment, up from 0.3 percent in the previous three months.

The French economy expanded by 0.3 percent and statistics office INSEE revised up the third quarter figure to flat from

-0.1 percent.

That meant France grew 0.3 percent over the course of last year, more than the government's estimate of 0.1 percent.

Analysts nonetheless were cautious.

"It is still going to be far from plain sailing for the euro zone in 2014 as a number of significant growth constraints remain," said Howard Archer, chief European economist at IHS.

Martin van Vliet, an analyst with ING, said a sustained recovery was "not yet assured".

Italy, now awaiting a new prime minister with Enrico Letta due to resign having been forced out by his own Democratic Party, dragged itself back to growth for the first time since mid-2011.

Its economy expanded marginally by 0.1 percent. Over the whole of 2013, GDP contracted by 1.9 percent, the ISTAT statistics office said.

Italy has been one of the world's most sluggish economies for more than a decade. Growth has averaged less than zero over the last 12 years. In 2014, the government forecasts growth of 1.1 percent.

The German Statistics Office saw "mixed signals" from the domestic economy, which has driven growth throughout most of the year, with public expenditure stable and private consumption slightly below the level of the previous quarter.

"Capital investment developed positively," the Statistics Office said. "However, a strong reduction in inventories put the brakes on economic growth."

The German Economy Ministry said on Wednesday it expected gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 1.8 percent in 2014 - more than four times faster than in 2013 as a whole.

The European Central Bank kept policy steady earlier this month with President Mario Draghi declaring more information was needed before deciding on any action.

He cited fresh ECB staff forecasts which will be ready for the March policy meeting and the fourth quarter GDP numbers.

Spain has already reported fourth quarter growth of 0.3 percent, its second successive quarter of expansion. The government now expects growth this year of close to 1 percent, compared with an official forecast of 0.7 percent. 
The Dutch economy grew by a solid 0.7 percent on the quarter, well above the market consensus. Austrian GDP rose 0.3 percent.

The French government expects growth will accelerate this year to at least 0.9 percent, driven by a rebound in company investment.

A breakdown of the fourth quarter French figures showed growth was driven by the first rise in corporate investment in two years. Public investment was even stronger and household spending also recovered.

Finance Minister Pierre Moscovici nonetheless described the economy's strength as "unsatisfactory" and said faster growth was needed to create more jobs with unemployment at nearly 11 percent.

The growth, however, now needs to spill over into a decent job creation, a crucial link the recovery was missing so far, analysts say.

"Moreover, both the relatively strong euro and the slowdown in emerging market economies are clear downward risks to the growth outlook," ING's van Vliet said, adding he expected the ECB to stay cautious.

"That said, today’s better-than-expected GDP data does provide the ECB with a little more confidence about the recovery and hence reduce the chances of a March 6th ECB rate cut."

WSJ: Asia Pacific Equity Indexes at Close for February 14th, 2014.

Country: Index	Last	Change	% Chg
Asia Dow	2917.43	17.10	0.59
DJ Asia-Pacific TSM	1395.61	1.11	0.08
Australia: All Ordinaries*	5366.90	48.20	0.91
Australia: S&P/ASX*	5356.30	48.20	0.91
China: DJ Shanghai*	280.00	2.81	1.01
China: Shanghai Composite*	2115.85	17.45	0.83
China: Shenzhen Composite*	1138.39	18.46	1.65
China: Shanghai 50*	1534.24	6.22	0.41
Hong Kong: Hang Seng*	22298.41	132.88	0.60
India: S&P BSE Sensex*	20366.82	173.47	0.86
India: S&P CNX Nifty*	6048.35	47.25	0.79
Indonesia: JSX Index*	4508.04	16.38	0.36
Indonesia: JSX BISNIS 27*	383.92	1.05	0.27
Indonesia: JSX Islamic*	608.97	1.75	0.29
Indonesia: JSX LQ-45*	757.59	2.92	0.39
Indonesia: PEFINDO-25*	407.52	4.21	1.04
Indonesia: SRI-KEHATI*	250.63	1.12	0.45
Japan: DJ Japan TSM*	738.05	-9.83	-1.31
Japan: Nikkei 225*	14313.03	-221.71	-1.53
Japan: TOPIX Index*	1183.82	-15.92	-1.33
Malaysia: DJ Malaysia TSM*	3434.45	5.78	0.17
Malaysia: FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI*	1819.37	2.22	0.12
New Zealand: NZX 50*	4888.40	14.87	0.31
S. Korea: KOSPI*	1940.28	13.32	0.69
S. Korea: KOSPI 50*	1648.47	11.97	0.73
S. Korea: KOSPI 100*	1910.40	13.74	0.72
S. Korea: KOSPI 200 Composite*	252.74	1.77	0.71
Singapore: FTSE Straits Times*	3038.71	-1.19	-0.04
Taiwan: TAIEX*	8513.68	45.98	0.54
Thailand: SET*	1311.87	-2.19	-0.17

BPZ Form SC 13G/A Amended Statement of Beneficial Ownership Filed Feb 14, 2014

SCHEDULE 13G - TO BE INCLUDED IN
STATEMENTS
FILED PURSUANT TO RULE 13d-1(b) or 13d-2(b)

Pursuant to the instructions in Item 7 of Schedule 13G,
Fidelity Management & Research Company ("Fidelity"), 245 

Summer Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02210, a wholly- owned subsidiary of FMR LLC and an investment adviser registered under Section 203 of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, is the beneficial owner of 16,284,047 shares or 13.653% of the Common Stock outstanding of BPZ RESOURCES INC ("the Company") as a result of acting as investment adviser to various investment companies registered under Section 8 of the Investment Company Act of 1940. The number of shares of Common Stock of BPZ RESOURCES INC owned by the investment companies at December 31, 2013 included 1,745,635 shares of Common Stock resulting from the assumed conversion of $7,000,000 principal amount of BPZ RESOURCES CV 8.5% 10/1/17 (249.376496 shares of Common Stock for each $1,000 principal amount of debenture).
Edward C. Johnson 3d and FMR LLC, through its control of Fidelity, and the funds each has sole power to dispose of the 16,284,047 shares owned by the Funds.
The ownership of one investment company, Fideltiy Value Fund, amounted to 8,344,640 shares or 6.996% of the Common Stock outstanding. Fideltiy Value Fund has its principal business office at 245 Summer Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02210.
Fidelity SelectCo, LLC ("SelectCo"), 1225 17th Street, Suite 1100, Denver, Colorado 80202, a wholly-owned subsidiary of FMR LLC and an investment adviser registered under Section 203 of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, is the beneficial owner of 500,300 shares or 0.419% of the Common Stock outstanding of BPZ RESOURCES INC ("the Company") as a result of acting as investment adviser to various investment companies registered under Section 8 of the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the "SelectCo Funds").
Edward C. Johnson 3d and FMR LLC, through its control of SelectCo, and the SelectCo Funds each has sole power to dispose of the 500,300 owned by the SelectCo Funds.
Members of the family of Edward C. Johnson 3d, Chairman of FMR LLC, are the predominant owners, directly or through trusts, of Series B voting common shares of FMR LLC, representing 49% of the voting power of FMR LLC. The Johnson family group and all other Series B shareholders have entered into a shareholders' voting agreement under which all Series B voting common shares will be voted in accordance with the majority vote of Series B voting common shares. Accordingly, through their ownership of voting common shares and the execution of the shareholders' voting agreement, members of the Johnson family may be deemed, under the Investment Company Act of 1940, to form a controlling group with respect to FMR LLC.
Neither FMR LLC nor Edward C. Johnson 3d, Chairman of FMR LLC, has the sole power to vote or direct the voting of the shares owned directly by the Fidelity Funds, which power resides with the Funds' Boards of Trustees. Fidelity carries out the voting of the shares under written guidelines established by the Funds' Boards of Trustees.
Pyramis Global Advisors, LLC ("PGALLC"), 900 Salem Street, Smithfield, Rhode Island, 02917, an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of FMR LLC and an investment adviser registered under Section 203 of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, is the beneficial owner of 133,050 shares or 0.112% of the outstanding Common Stock of BPZ RESOURCES INC as a result of its serving as investment adviser to institutional accounts, non-U.S. mutual funds, or investment companies registered under Section 8 of the Investment Company Act of 1940 owning such shares.
Edward C. Johnson 3d and FMR LLC, through its control of PGALLC, each has sole dispositive power over 133,050 shares and sole power to vote or to direct the voting of 133,050 shares of Common Stock owned by the institutional accounts or funds advised by PGALLC as reported above.

SCHEDULE 13G - TO BE INCLUDED IN 

STATEMENTS 

FILED PURSUANT TO RULE 13d-1(b) or 13d-2(b)
RULE 13d-1(f)(1) AGREEMENT

The undersigned persons, on February 13, 2014, agree and consent to the joint filing on their behalf of this Schedule 13G in connection with their beneficial ownership of the Common Stock of BPZ RESOURCES INC at December 31, 2013.

FMR LLC

By /s/ Scott C. Goebel Scott C. Goebel Duly authorized under Power of Attorney effective as of June 1, 2008, by and on behalf of FMR LLC and its direct and indirect subsidiaries

Edward C. Johnson 3d

By /s/ Scott C. Goebel Scott C. Goebel Duly authorized under Power of Attorney effective as of June 1, 2008, by and on behalf of Edward C. Johnson 3d

Fidelity Management & Research Company

By /s/ Scott C. Goebel Scott C. Goebel Senior V.P. and General Counsel

Fideltiy Value Fund

By /s/ Scott C. Goebel Scott C. Goebel Secretary

WSJ; Norwegian Central Banker Urges Oil Fund to Shift Investments, Less Bonds.

         The Wall Street Journal reports,''Norway's central bank governor said Thursday the nation's massive sovereign-wealth fund should be allowed to increase exposure to assets such as equities and infrastructure and trim back on bonds to find a better balance between improving returns and hedging against risk.

Øystein Olsen said that cutting the bond exposure of the fund, also known as the oil fund, to between 20% and 25% of its holdings from the current 35% could be appropriate''.

"We'll get markedly higher yields in the other asset classes—[such as] real assets, including equities," he said in an interview. "Yes, we'll see fluctuations in those assets, but as a long-term investor we can sit tight through those fluctuations.

"To get to such a share [of 20% to 25% bondholdings], we're talking many years. The advice will come significantly earlier, but to accomplish the target itself will take years," he said.

The $800 billion Norwegian sovereign-wealth fund, the world's largest, has been reducing its bondholdings for some time. The government recently mandated the fund, which is managed by the country's central bank, to invest as much as 5% of its capital in real estate, while reducing bondholdings from 40% to 35%. More than 60% of the fund is in equities.

In recent years, the fund's returns were above normal, in large part because of stimulative actions of major central banks, Mr. Olsen said, as unconventional monetary policies boosted equity prices. Government bond prices also rose and yields fell.

"Looking ahead, low long-term interest rates will feed through into lower returns. It is doubtful that equity prices will continue to advance at the same pace as seen in the past couple of years," he said later in his speech, according to a published draft.

Norway has made several strategic shifts to the oil fund recently, such as allowing it to go on a massive real-estate shopping spree in the U.S. and several European countries, and has also allowed it to reduce its European exposure by shifting more assets into the U.S. and emerging markets. Mr. Olsen didn't rule out further shifts in the distribution.

Asian shares track U.S. gains despite downbeat data

Asian shares rose on Friday while the U.S. dollar struggled to regain traction after downbeat U.S. economic data pushed it to a nearly three-week low against the euro.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan <.MIAPJ0000PUS> added about 0.8 percent. Japan's Nikkei stock average <.N225> erased an initial bounce and pulled back 0.7 percent, as snow blanketed Tokyo and the yen pushed higher.

Australia's main index added about 0.7 percent <.AXJO>, on course to end five consecutive weeks of losses and mark its biggest weekly rise since December 2011.

China's consumer inflation remained at a seven-month low in January while factory gate prices fell for a 23rd consecutive month, broadly in line with market expectations and consistent with other recent data showing economic weakness. This gave investors no reason to expect any change to the central bank's policy stance.

"Inflation is not going to be an issue in China this year," said Tim Condon, an economist at ING in Singapore.

"They don't have to worry about inflation, so they do have the flexibility on the monetary and the fiscal side to stimulate a bit to avert too much of a slowdown. It's good news I think."

On Wall Street on Thursday, investors managed to shrug off the dour U.S. economic data. The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI>, the S&P 500 <.SPX> and the Nasdaq Composite <.IXIC> all marked gains, despite a storm that battered many eastern states.
U.S. retail sales fell unexpectedly in January, while separate data showed more claims for jobless benefits last week, against a backdrop of unusually bad weather. 

"While some of the softness is likely weather-related, the weakness was broad-based enough to suggest consumption is off to a weaker start in 2014," strategists at Barclays wrote in a note to clients.

"That said, the trend strengthening in real consumption remains, and we maintain our outlook for modest above-trend economic growth in 2014-15," they added, noting that Treasuries nonetheless got a lift from the downbeat data.

The yield on benchmark 10-year Treasury notes stood at 2.737 percent in Asian trade, compared with Thursday's U.S. close of 2.736 percent.

Yields have rallied this week after the U.S. Congress approved an increase in the debt limit and incoming Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen maintained the central bank's commitment to gradually withdraw its stimulus.

Against the yen, the greenback's early gains unravelled, and it slumped about 0.1 percent on the day to 102.08 yen , moving away from Thursday's session high of 102.58 yen.

The dollar index <.DXY> slumped about 0.1 percent to 80.274, though it remained above Thursday's low of 80.194, a level last seen on Jan. 24.

The euro was holding steady at $1.3677 , not far from the previous session's high of $1.3692, which was its highest since Jan. 27.

The common currency had a muted reaction to news that Italian prime minister will resign on Friday, opening the way for the country's third administration in a year.

Investors awaited fourth quarter growth data out of the euro zone later on Friday. Analysts polled by Reuters expect slightly faster growth in the 17-nation economy.

In commodities trading, U.S. crude inched up slightly to $100.38 a barrel after skidding on the previous session's dismal U.S. data. Brent crude add about 0.1 percent to $108.60.

Spot gold added about 0.2 percent in Asian trading to $1,306 an ounce, after hitting a three-month high of $1,307.20 earlier in the session.

The U.S. data gave gold futures a lift and helped them post their eighth straight gaining session - the longest winning streak since July 2011.

Source: Reuters

Japan's love hotels see business booming

From rooms kitted out like medical clinics where couples can play "doctors and nurses" to grottos where it is permanently Christmas, Japan's "Love Hotels" cater to almost every taste, offering a few hours of reasonably-priced privacy in a crowded country.

And with the kind of occupancy rates that most hotels can only dream of, even during economic hard times, they are an almost recession-proof business, and a sector that is sure to see a bump over Valentine's Day.One weekday lunchtime at Two-Way, one of many Love Hotels in the lively Tokyo district of Shibuya, only two of the 34 rooms are vacant.
Even the most basic room comes with an ensuite bath, and with a starting price of around 7,000 yen ($70) for the night, it represents good value for money in a country where accommodation can be expensive. A little bit of couple time during the day can be bought for as low as 2,000 yen.
At the higher end, a room will have luxury sheets, the latest flat screen television - complete with a limitless supply of adult entertainment - a game console, perhaps a mirrored ceiling and a deep bubble bath with room enough for two.
In between are rooms to suit every imaginable taste, some more typically kinky, with an array of gags, whips and leather, and some designed to indulge an altogether more innocent fantasy, such as those with a Star Wars theme or done up to resemble medieval European castles.

Source: NewsonJapan

Japan gets in the mood for love this Valentine's Day

Love is all around at this time of year, but on Valentine's Day in Japan it isn't so evenly distributed. The festival of romance has long suffered from a gender imbalance here: Feb. 14 is traditionally a day for women to give presents to men - not just their partners, but also often fellow students, coworkers, family members or other hangers-on (such gifts are aptly termed giri-choko, or "obligation chocolates").

A month later, the fellows are expected to repay in kind, on what's known as White Day - a festival that might feel more meaningful if it hadn't been instituted by the National Confectionary Industry Association in 1978.Maybe that's why Japanese men tend to look forward to Valentine's Day more than their female counterparts. In a recent survey of more than 3,000 people in their 20s and 30s, two-thirds of men reported that they were expecting love to bloom on Feb. 14; in contrast, nearly half of the women answered that they weren't.

Source: Japan Times

Kerry urges Japan, S. Korea to overcome history issues

Visiting U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said Thursday that Japan and South Korea should improve their relations by overcoming history issues.

He made the remark at a press conference after holding talks with South Korean President Park Geun Hye and Foreign Minister Yun Byung Se.Kerry thus urged Tokyo and Seoul to make headway by the time U.S. President Barack Obama visits the two countries in April.

Source: Jiji Press

China: Dear rose for dear lover

Prices aren’t coming up roses on this Valentines’ Day in China. That’s because the cost of the throned lovers’ blossoms has nearly doubled from 2013 prices due to a freak December snowstorm in Kunming, China’s flower-producing capital. The snowstorm in southwest China killed nearly half of the roses that would have landed in vases across the country. 

Kunming usually supplies 90 percent of China’s and the shortage has sent prices soaring. The cost of a single Kunming-grown rose bloomed to 16 yuan in Shanghai this week, twice as pricey as last year. An imported rose is even pricier. A single imported rose can cost as much as 80 yuan, or 13 US dollars. Flower dealers in Shanghai say 60 percent of the flowers they will sell this Valentines’Day come from abroad. That’s up from just 20 percent last year.

Source: CCTV

Hong Kong: explores the use of underground space

Hong Kong is a city known for its soaring skyscrapers and crowded sidewalks,but now the city is getting creative and exploring the use of underground space to increase land supply for new homes. Cathy Yang walks the campus grounds of the University of Hong Kong, where innovative planning has helped find it new space for its growing number of its students.

This is the University of Hong Kong – one of the world’s top universities, located in the western end of the Southern district. It is Hong Kong’s oldest institute for higher learning. It is also a venue where the city government can learn a few things from – when it comes to increasing land for homes in a city’s that literally running out of space.

Hong Kong University literally went underground – moving reservoirs into caverns – to free up space and accommodate more undergraduates in the campus.

Because the existing campus was located in a built-up area and was already crowded, the University could not construct any new buildings. So they went for the one, innovative option, and you see it right behind me. The University sought approval to relocate these service reservoirs right here into the underground caverns behind me.

Where these three service reservoirs used to be -- is here. And the space that it freed up is where the University of Hong Kong’s new Centennial Campus now stands. It’s made up of three buildings – housing the arts, social sciences and law faculties.

And as Professor Lee Chack-fan of Hong Kong University noted, much to the surprise of many, ‘the campus actually looks nice and green, complete with an array of environmentally friendly facilities.’

And this innovative solution reinforces what Hong Kong Chief Executive C-Y Leung highlighted in his recent policy address, when he referred to the use of underground space in relation to land supply for housing. What Hong Kong University did – may just as well give urban planners and developers a fresh take on how else to address the need to build new homes -- in a city that’s literally running out of space.

Source: CCTV

Myanmar uses int'l gold standard for first time

Myanmar is inviting world investors to join its gold rush. The southeast Asian country announced Wednesday that for the first time it will use international measurement standards to issue gold bars. Myanmar officials say the change will further open their country's gold market to the outside world.

Myanmar will start selling gold with 99.99 percent purity in the international unit, gram, instead of the Myanmar kyat.

Myanmar is awash in a variety of minerals but has kept itself relatively closed to the global gold market. That's because it was using different gold extracting and purifying standards as well as local measurement units. The country also restricted how much gold foreigners could buy.

"Only after people in Myanmar become familiar with and understand such a standard, can the gold produced in Myanmar be sold in the international market. After a period of promotion, more than 60 million Myanmar people will be able to use the standard, and then we can adapt and enter the international market," said U Khin Maung Han of Myanmar Federation of Mining Association.

The end to Myanmar's export ban on selected minerals such as gold won't happen in just one day, though. A 1994 law requires a 30 vs 70 percent profit sharing ratio between a foreign company mining in Myanmar and the government. However, Myanmar plans to loosen restrictions on gold exports in two years.

"Many international investors have entered the country, and they want to buy gold. Whether we can sell or whether they can bring the gold outside of the country will be a big problem. When Myanmar joins the ASEAN Free Trade Area, the government should solve the problem," said Y Kyaw Win, secretary of Myanmar Gold Entrepreneurs' Association.

A Reuters database shows that Myanmar allowed only companies from China, Thailand and South Korea to explore for minerals within its borders as of 2012. Mining companies from Australia and Russia are also involved, but often through third-parties.

Source: CCTV

BOK keeps rate unchanged for ninth month

South Korea's central bank stood pat on rates Thursday. That makes it nine months in a row of unchanged rates.

The Bank of Korea held its base rate steady at 2.50 percent in a widely expected move. But the central bank is expected to start raising interest rates as soon as the third quarter of this year. That's because inflation will likely heat up on the back of sustained economic growth.

The BOK will also keep an eye on China's economic growth and how global markets react to the Fed's stimulus reduction.

A deeper slowdown in China could deal a sharp blow to South Korea because it sends about a quarter of its exports to China.

Source: CCTV

Italian PM to resign, sparking market jitters over economic policies

Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta said Thursday he would resign the following day, sparking market jitters over the economic policies of a government headed by a new prime minister.

Speculations are high on local media that 39-year-old Democratic Party secretary Matteo Renzi could succeed Letta to head the country's third government in ten months and become the youngest prime minister since the creation of the Italian Republic following World War II.

But the question on the lips of many Italians is whether the new prime minister will be able to pull Italy out of its long-lasting economic malaise.

Angelino Alfano, a junior member of the Letta government, said Renzi's vigor and leadership skills, combined with positive gross domestic product growth numbers for January soon to be released, set the stage for Renzi to hit the ground running.

But the truth is probably less certain: while Italy's economy grew very slightly in the fourth quarter of 2013 and most economists predict positive growth for 2014 as a whole, the economy as a whole has shrunk in per capita terms over the past five years and that is unlikely to change this year.

Unemployment levels remain high in Italy despite the early indications of a gradual economic turnaround, and consumer confidence levels remain near all-time lows.

Recent polls showed Renzi's higher popularity than other political figures in Italy. Polling firm Opinioni reported earlier this month that nearly 60 percent of Italians have a "very positive" or "somewhat positive" opinion of the fiery Tuscan while nobody else is above 40 percent.

Renzi may be banking on his wide support to give him a mandate to push through difficult reforms -- but it remains unclear what those reforms may be.

"The challenges a Renzi government will face are enormous," said Javier Noriega, chief economist with investment bankers Hildebrandt and Ferrar in Milan. "He has said he wants to create jobs and economic growth, but so far we have little indication how he will do that."

It is clear that investors are at least a little nervous about the possibility that the problems may be more difficult than Renzi and his supporters believe.

The news of Letta's imminent departure was widely anticipated, but when it was made official late in the trading day Thursday investors reacted immediately, sending the blue-chip index on the Milan Stock Exchange down by more than 1 percent, while the yield on Italy's benchmark ten-year bond inched higher on secondary markets, closing at 3.80 percent.

The spread -- the difference of the yield from bonds in two markets -- between German and Italian debt widened by an even larger margin, reaching 210 basis points in after-hours trading compared to 201 the day before.

Source: Xinhua

Xinhua: Aston Martin plays "Made in China" blame game

Aston Martin's latest recall again passed the buck for poor quality of products, but this time "Made in China" is just the scapegoat of the glorious carmaker.

British luxury carmaker Aston Martin announced on Feb. 5 the recall of 17,590 cars because of a problem with the accelerator pedal molding, a part from a Chinese supplier.

On Thursday, the People's Daily, flagship newspaper of the Communist Party of China, called the company "unprofessional", saying Aston Martin having no basis to impute the fault to Chinese manufacturers.

The newspaper disclosed on Wednesday that Aston Martin had not stuck by its own supposed "strict standards" in selection and monitoring of its supply chain.

The accused supplier, Shenzhen Kexiang Mould Tool Co., Ltd., denied any direct contract with Aston Martin, which was confirmed by Aston Martin's British headquarters.

The carmaker said its secondary supplier Fast Forward Tooling (FFT) started working with Shenzhen Kexiang in April 2013 and the business only involved some 700 vehicles.

Zhang Zhiang, manager of the small Chinese firm, questioned why the blame fell on his company as the recalled cars were traced as far back as 2007. His company was established in Aug. 2010 and is incapable of taking big orders from the likes of Aston Martin.

He added that his company, with outdated equipment and limited workshop space, only made a few models for FFT around July last year, and had had no further contact.

Further investigation in Hong Kong and the United Kingdom found that FFT was a small office among warehouses and plants in Leicestershire, 160 kilometers away from London, operated by one man with a defunct email address.

Synthetic Plastic Raw Material Co., Ltd. of Dongguan, also accused by Aston Martin of providing material for Shenzhen Kexiang, is not even a registered business.

Aston Martin's manager in Shanghai confirmed to the paper that the investigation was fair, and that the company was dealing with the issue.

A car marketing expert Zhang Zhiyong points out that Aston Martin is obliged to inform consumers of the real cause of any recall, and the company had failed in this duty.

Zhou Zheng, professor of business and economics at the University of Hong Kong, said that enterprises are fully responsible for their product quality, and quality supervision of subcontracted products.

He said that loopholes in choosing suppliers were dangerous for product quality and customers, and passing the buck to Chinese suppliers was unprofessional.

An engineer at China's First Automobile Works told the paper that it was no surprise that Aston Martin chose small suppliers. High-end manufacturers were likely to be interested, considering Aston Martin's low sales volume, but this could not excuse the company's malpractice.

Zhou believes it was a simple cost-saving measure. In modern industry chains, subcontracts are very common and improve production efficiency while lowering cost.

For example, a pair of steering knuckle arms trade for 140 U.S. dollars, but only cost about 200 yuan (32.73 U.S. dollars) to produce in China.

Expanded supply chains created subcontract management challenges, which impose higher quality risks on enterprises.

"Aston Martin's careless choice has damaged its reputation," Zhou said.

Higher levels of technology and quality are the ultimate solution for the unjust stereotype of "Made in China" as cheap and copycat.

Source: Xinhua

Lenovo’s newest earnings report is the envy of both smartphone and PC makers

Things are looking up for Lenovo.

Ahead of its pending acquisition of Motorola from Google, Lenovo (HKG:0992) announced record revenue and profits in Q3 2014. Its latest earnings report boasted US$10.8 billion in revenue, up 15 percent from last year, and $265 million in profit, up 30 percent.

Those numbers have been on a steady rise since Q4 2012. This is the first time Lenovo’s broken the US$10 billion threshold. The only region that didn’t show a significant rise in revenue was Lenovo’s home turf, China.

Lenovo now holds 18.5 percent of global PC market share, its highest recorded ever. Despite a global decrease in PC sales, laptop sales revenue grew 11 percent.

Tablet sales worldwide grew a hefty 326 percent year-on-year, while smartphones gained a solid 47 percent. IDC ranks Lenovo’s global market share fifth in tablets and fourth in smartphones. While its main market is still China, it managed to sell two million smartphone units outside of its home country for the first time. If Lenovo can manage to effectively leverage its upcoming acquisition of Motorola, that number could see a significant increase. Lenovo also wants to re-introduce Motorola as a viable competitor in its domestic market.

Its pending purchase of IBM’s x86 server unit will also push the company immediately to the number three spot in the global server manufacturing sector.

With these two most recent acquisitions, Lenovo has decided to split its business into four separate groups: PC, mobile, enterprise, and ecosystem and cloud.

Source: TECHINASIA

With 350 million registered users, Line looks at mobile commerce for future growth

Generating over $330 million in revenue last year, Line has shown the world how a messaging app can earn boatloads of money. During a visit to Line’s Tokyo office, COO Idezawa Takeshi, revealed that games accounted for 60 percent of its revenue. The rest is split equally between stickers and business services like official accounts and branded stickers on Line.

As its current business model stabilizes, Line is constantly searching for new ways to engage users while continuing to drive revenues. One of its most recent efforts to do so has been in e-commerce. For example, cosmetic brand Maybelline conducted a flash sale on Line in Thailand which saw 500 lipsticks sell out in five minutes. Also in Thailand, Line saw its branded iPhone cases get snatched up under 25 minutes.

Takeshi said that flash sales have been successful for two major reasons. First, Line is primarily a messaging platform which has strong push feature. Second, since Line is primarily used on mobile, flash sales get users’ attention quickly and efficiently. Could the same reasoning be applied to mobile commerce in general? Line certainly thinks so.

With several rounds of successful e-commerce tests under its belt, Line had the confidence to launch Line Mall, a B2C and C2C e-commerce marketplace. Line declined to share data about its Mall application but did say that it will launch in full by March or April. Line Mall is currently available only on Android, but an iOS version is expected to arrive this Spring.

Anyone who uses Line actively is likely to find it fun. Its character sticker sets deliver cuteness in droves. But in addition to just being cute, a sticker can sometimes digitally express an emotion better than thousand words can.

''We admit that the characters might not be popular as time passes and we haven’t thought what to do after that. We can always add in new characters. If there comes a day that the world doesn’t like characters, we will do something else. But LINE isn’t just about stickers. There’s other stuff like music, e-commerce, and manga. We are a platform''

.With over 20 million registered users in Indonesia, Line is confident it can dominate the Indonesian market. Over the past couple of years, the mobile messaging app has blasted TV ads across the country in an effort to acquire more users. It has localized to meet market needs as well. For example, Line in Indonesia is available on feature phones. Sending stickers is as easy as sending an SMS. Takeshi said:

User numbers in Indonesia are growing very well. There are a lot of competition but we are doing really well. Line has a strong chance to be at the top in Indonesia.

Elsewhere, Takeshi also singled out Line’s performance in India, where the chat app reached 16 million registered users, as particularly promising. “There are 800 million mobile users in India. The potential is huge,” said Takeshi.

Outside of Asia, Line is experiencing huge growth in Spain and South America. Only about 14 percent of its 350 million registered users originate from Japan.

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