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| GM avoided defective switch redesign in 2005 to save a dollar each Tuesday, Apr 01, 2014 06:50 PM PDT  By Paul Lienert and Marilyn Thompson DETROIT/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - General Motors Co in 2005 decided not to change an ignition switch eventually linked to the deaths of at least 13 people because it would have added about a dollar to the cost of each car, according to an internal GM document provided to U.S. congressional investigators. The U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce released the documents on Tuesday as lawmakers asked CEO Mary Barra why GM failed to recall 2.6 million cars until more than a decade after it first noticed a switch problem that could cut off engines and disable airbags, power steering and power brakes. Colorado Congresswoman Diana DeGette cited a 2005 GM document that she said showed a cost of 57 cents per fix. However, Reuters obtained what appeared to be a separate document, a series of 2005 emails between GM engineers debating whether to make a change to the ignition switch. Full Story | Top |
| Massive 8.2 earthquake off Chile coast sparks tsunami Tuesday, Apr 01, 2014 08:01 PM PDT  By Anthony Esposito and Rosalba O'Brien SANTIAGO (Reuters) - A major earthquake of magnitude 8.2 struck off the coast of Chile on Tuesday, triggering a tsunami that hit the northern part of the country, but the government reported no deaths or serious damage. The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake was shallow at 12.5 miles below the seabed and struck about 100 km northwest of the mining port of Iquique near the Peruvian border. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said the quake generated a large tsunami with the biggest wave reported at 2.3 meters. The government said it had no reports of significant damage to coastal areas, but around 300 prisoners took advantage of the confusion and escaped from a jail in Iquique, Interior Minister Rodrigo Penailillo said. Full Story | Top |
| NATO suspends cooperation with Russia over Ukraine crisis Tuesday, Apr 01, 2014 04:32 PM PDT  By Adrian Croft and Sabine Siebold BRUSSELS (Reuters) - NATO suspended all practical cooperation with Russia on Tuesday in protest at its annexation of Crimea, and ordered military planners to draft measures to strengthen its defenses and reassure nervous Eastern European countries. Foreign ministers from the 28-nation, U.S.-led alliance were meeting for the first time since the Russian occupation of Ukraine's Crimea region touched off the worst East-West crisis since the Cold War. NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said Russia's actions meant there could be no "business as usual". "So today, we are suspending all practical cooperation with Russia, military and civilian," he told a news conference. Full Story | Top |
| Pressure rises on Gross as investors pull $3.1 billion from Pimco's flagship fund Tuesday, Apr 01, 2014 04:52 PM PDT  By Jennifer Ablan and Sam Forgione NEW YORK (Reuters) - Investors pulled another $3.1 billion from Pimco's flagship fund in March, the 11th straight month of outflows from the world's largest bond fund, and its performance on the month lagged 95 percent of its peers due to a spate of wrong calls by long-time manager Bill Gross. The latest statistics for the Pimco Total Return Fund, released Tuesday by Morningstar, increase the risk that more money could flee the fund managed by Gross, whose shop has been rattled by a management shakeup and disappointing performance. In all, investors have pulled $52.1 billion out of the fund since last May, according to Morningstar data. Several U.S. institutional investors, including retirement systems, said they are closely monitoring the developments at Pimco and have formally put Pimco on "watch lists," a signal that they will keep a much closer eye on its performance than usual. Full Story | Top |
| Insight: Japan may only be able to restart one-third of its nuclear reactors Tuesday, Apr 01, 2014 08:44 PM PDT  By Mari Saito, Aaron Sheldrick and Kentaro Hamada TOKYO (Reuters) - Three years after the Fukushima disaster prompted the closure of all Japan's nuclear reactors, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is moving to revive nuclear power as a core part of the energy mix, but many of those idled reactors will never come back online. This means Japan is likely to remain heavily reliant on imported fuel to power the world's third-largest economy, straining a trade balance that has been in the red for nearly two years. Hokkaido Electric Power Co and Kyushu Electric Power Co, both facing a third year of financial losses, are seeking capital infusions totaling nearly $1.5 billion from a state-owned lender. Kyushu Electric shares dropped as much as 7 percent on Wednesday to an 8-week low. Full Story | Top |
| CEO Barra calls GM's actions on deadly defect 'unacceptable' Tuesday, Apr 01, 2014 06:02 PM PDT  After taking an oath at a House of Representatives panel, Barra kicked off the contentious hearing by declaring, "I am deeply sorry" for the company's failure to respond quickly to the safety problem and subsequent deaths. The questioning became contentious at times but it did not appear to rattle the GM chief executive, who rose to her current job in January. Still, during a nearly three-hour appearance on Capitol Hill, Barra testified again and again that GM had taken steps to prevent future safety problems from occurring. She labored to remind lawmakers that the so-called "new GM" she heads was nothing like the "old GM" that failed to deal with faulty ignition switches for more than a decade. Full Story | Top |
| Exclusive: Widow of Zurich CFO to confront insurer at AGM over suicide Tuesday, Apr 01, 2014 03:49 PM PDT  By Katharina Bart ZURICH (Reuters) - Seven months after the suicide of Zurich Insurance finance chief Pierre Wauthier, his widow is set to confront the company over its handling of the tragedy, reopening a scandal that unsettled investors. In the first extensive interview since her husband's death last August, Fabienne Wauthier told Reuters she would attend Zurich's annual general meeting (AGM) on Wednesday - along with her daughter and her late husband's mother and brother - to voice concerns about how a probe into the suicide was conducted. She says she is dissatisfied with the investigation, commissioned by Switzerland's financial regulator FINMA and conducted by law firm Homburger. During the Homburger probe, Wauthier's widow has said she was never approached by the law firm, which has previously carried out work for Zurich and was asked by FINMA to look into whether the CFO had come under "undue pressure". Full Story | Top |
| Malaysia releases transcript of last words from missing plane Tuesday, Apr 01, 2014 08:22 PM PDT  Malaysia on Tuesday released the full transcript of communications between the Boeing 777 and local air traffic control before it dropped from civilian radar in the early hours of March 8 as it flew from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. "There is no indication of anything abnormal in the transcript," Malaysian Acting Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said in the statement, without giving explanation for the changes in the reported last communication. "The transcript was initially held as part of the police investigation," he added. Minutes after the final radio transmission was received the plane's communications were cut off and it turned back across Peninsular Malaysia and headed towards the Indian Ocean, according to military radar and limited satellite data. Full Story | Top |
| Republican Ryan's budget sets political course for party in 2014 Tuesday, Apr 01, 2014 03:39 PM PDT  By David Lawder WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Representative Paul Ryan, the leading Republican voice on budget policy, rolled out a fiscal blueprint on Tuesday that calls for deep cuts in domestic programs, increased defense spending and a goal of erasing annual deficits within a decade. Ryan's budget has no chance of passing the Democratic-controlled Senate. But for the November congressional elections, it will serve as a manifesto of Republican priorities - a plan the party will use to draw contrasts with Democratic President Barack Obama's push to trim federal spending more gradually, boost taxes on the wealthy and increase protections for lower- and middle-class Americans. He would cut social programs such as food stamps and Medicare, the national insurance program for older Americans. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. factory activity picks up, more gains eyed as winter fades Tuesday, Apr 01, 2014 03:12 PM PDT  By Lucia Mutikani WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. factory activity accelerated for a second straight month in March and auto sales surged, the latest signs the economy was regaining footing after a brutal winter. The economy is looking more positive," said Chris Rupkey, chief financial economist at Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ in New York. The Institute for Supply Management said on Tuesday its index of national factory activity rose to 53.7 last month from 53.2 in February. Full Story | Top |
| Malaysia releases transcript of last words from missing plane Tuesday, Apr 01, 2014 03:42 AM PDT  Malaysia on Tuesday released the full transcript of communications between the Boeing 777 and local air traffic control before it dropped from civilian radar in the early hours of March 8 as it flew from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. "There is no indication of anything abnormal in the transcript," Malaysian Acting Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said in the statement, without giving explanation for the changes in the reported last communication. "The transcript was initially held as part of the police investigation," he added. Minutes after the final radio transmission was received the plane's communications were cut off and it turned back across Peninsular Malaysia and headed towards the Indian Ocean, according to military radar and limited satellite data. Full Story | Top |
| Japan may only be able to restart one-third of its nuclear reactors Tuesday, Apr 01, 2014 02:09 PM PDT  By Mari Saito, Aaron Sheldrick and Kentaro Hamada TOKYO (Reuters) - Three years after the Fukushima disaster prompted the closure of all Japan's nuclear reactors, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is moving to revive nuclear power as a core part of the energy mix, but many of those idled reactors will never come back online. This means Japan is likely to remain heavily reliant on imported fuel to power the world's third-largest economy, straining a trade balance that has been in the red for nearly two years. Hokkaido Electric Power Co, facing a third year of financial losses, is seeking a capital infusion from a state-owned lender, which would make it the second utility, after Fukushima operator Tokyo Electric Power Co, to get a government bailout since the March 2011 disaster. Continuing indefinitely to burn more coal and gas also means Tokyo will find it much harder to meet targets for reducing greenhouse-gas emissions. Full Story | Top |
| Abbas signs international conventions; Kerry cancels visit Tuesday, Apr 01, 2014 02:03 PM PDT  By Ali Sawafta and Noah Browning RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters) - Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas signed more than a dozen international conventions on Tuesday, citing anger at Israel's delay of a prisoner release in a decision that jeopardized U.S. efforts to salvage fragile peace talks. His unexpected move was aimed at solidifying the standing of Palestinians in global bodies, defying both Israel and the United States that have long opposed such unilateral action. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry immediately announced that he was cancelling a trip to the region on Wednesday that Washington had hoped would result in a three-way deal aimed at extending the negotiations into 2015. Full Story | Top |
| Egypt Muslim Brotherhood chief calls Sisi a 'tyrant' Tuesday, Apr 01, 2014 10:11 AM PDT  By Samia Nakhoul CAIRO (Reuters) - The top leader of Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood accused Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, the former army chief widely tipped to become the country's next president, of being a tyrant and predicted he would fail to stay in power. Speaking on Tuesday from a cage in a courtroom where he faces trial for inciting violence, Brotherhood Supreme Guide Mohamed Badie also dismissed accusations by the military-backed government that the group engaged in terrorism. "The people will not accept an army tyrant," Badie said in reference to Sisi, who resigned from the military on Wednesday in order to contest a presidential election on May 26-27. Sisi toppled President Mohamed Mursi, who was freely elected in 2012 after many years rising through the Brotherhood, last July after mass protests against his rule. Full Story | Top |
| CEO Barra calls GM's actions on deadly defect 'unacceptable' Tuesday, Apr 01, 2014 02:29 PM PDT  By Ben Klayman and Eric Beech WASHINGTON (Reuters) - General Motors Co CEO Mary Barra on Tuesday called her company's slow response to at least 13 deaths linked to faulty ignition switches "unacceptable," but could not give U.S. lawmakers many answers as to what went wrong as she pointed to an ongoing internal investigation. After taking an oath administered by House Energy and Commerce Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee Chairman Tim Murphy, Barra kicked off the contentious hearing by declaring, "I am deeply sorry" for the company's failure to respond quickly to the safety problem and subsequent deaths. Representative Henry Waxman, a veteran Democrat who has spearheaded past attempts to tighten U.S. laws on automotive safety, bluntly told Barra: "Because GM didn't implement this simple fix when it learned about the problem, at least a dozen people have died in defective GM vehicles." GM first learned of a problem with its ignition switches on Chevrolet Cobalts, Saturn Ions and other models in 2001, documents have shown, but took no steps to recall any cars until this past February. Full Story | Top |
| West stumbles as autocratic force trumps economics Tuesday, Apr 01, 2014 09:15 AM PDT A quarter-century after the fall of the Soviet Union, authoritarian rulers such as Vladimir Putin and Bashar al-Assad are showing they can and will defy international norms, suppress dissent and use military force. American policymakers are struggling with how to respond. "It's a big philosophical question about how to deal with a strong state with anti-Western and autocratic proclivities," said Michael McFaul, the most recent American ambassador to Moscow. "I would say on that score we are kind of confused as a country." Citing the sweeping unpopularity of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, American officials have embraced economic sanctions as their primary means of pressuring foreign governments. Full Story | Top |
| China's Xi seeks peace in Europe but side-steps Ukraine Tuesday, Apr 01, 2014 05:30 AM PDT  By Robin Emmott BRUGES, Belgium (Reuters) - Chinese President Xi Jinping told Europe on Tuesday that Beijing opposed intervention in other countries' affairs but he declined to directly criticize Russia for its annexation of Crimea. Xi also assured European leaders that China was a close ally committed to the continent's peace and prosperity. Ending his European tour with a speech in the Belgian city of Bruges, Xi said he considered China's relationship with the European Union as Beijing's priority and praised its commitment to a lasting peace that China would also seek to uphold. He said that while the memory of foreign invasion and bullying had never been erased from the minds of the Chinese people, "I have come to Europe to build a bridge across the Eurasian continent." Xi's speech to dignitaries including the Belgian king and prime minister were his only public remarks during three days in Belgium. Full Story | Top |
| Apocalyptic prophecies drive both sides to Syrian battle for end of time Tuesday, Apr 01, 2014 07:39 AM PDT  By Mariam Karouny BEIRUT (Reuters) - Conflict in Syria kills hundreds of thousands of people and spreads unrest across the Middle East. If the scenario sounds familiar to an anxious world watching Syria's devastating civil war, it resonates even more with Sunni and Shi'ite fighters on the frontlines - who believe it was all foretold in 7th Century prophecies. Among those many thousands of sayings, or hadith, are accounts which refer to the confrontation of two huge Islamic armies in Syria, a great battle near Damascus, and intervention from the north and west of the country. The power of those prophecies for many fighters on the ground means that the three-year-old conflict is more deeply rooted - and far tougher to resolve - than a simple power struggle between President Bashar al-Assad and his rebel foes. Full Story | Top |
| Abbas signs international conventions, jeopardizing peace moves Tuesday, Apr 01, 2014 12:25 PM PDT  Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas signed more than a dozen international conventions on Tuesday citing anger at Israel's delay of a prisoner release, in a move jeopardized U.S. efforts to salvage fragile peace talks. His unexpected decision came just a day before U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry had been due to travel to Ramallah for talks aimed at finalizing a complex, three-way deal that would enable the talks to continue into 2015. Israel had promised in exchange to free more than 100 prisoners by the end of March, but failed to release the final batch, saying it wanted guarantees that the Palestinians would extend the negotiations beyond the April 29 deadline. In his remarks to Palestinian leaders in the West Bank city of Ramallah, Abbas made clear he was not abandoning the negotiations, but blasted Israel's delay in freeing prisoners. Full Story | Top |
| 'En attendant Godot': Europe waiting for France Tuesday, Apr 01, 2014 05:53 AM PDT  By Paul Taylor PARIS (Reuters) - As President Francois Hollande goes through the French mid-term ritual of sacking his government and appointing a new one, promising a dynamic "fresh start" after a local election drubbing, Europe is left as usual waiting for France. Paris' partners in Berlin and Brussels are again wondering whether the French will ever keep their promises to the European Union to curb the budget deficit, reform a rigid economy and step up to the mantle of shared leadership of the euro zone. The Socialist president coupled the appointment of business-friendly centrist Manuel Valls as prime minister on Monday with vague, contradictory promises on taxation and public spending in the euro zone's number two economy. He would cut public spending but also reduce taxes by 2017 - the year when he may seek re-election - and he would also boost purchasing power to provide more social justice. Full Story | Top |
| France's Hollande seeks fresh start as new PM begins work Tuesday, Apr 01, 2014 09:18 AM PDT  Francois Hollande launched what he has billed as a fresh start to his unpopular 22-month-old presidency on Tuesday, as new prime minister Manuel Valls took up his post and set about forming a reshuffled government. The 51-year-old centrist, who as tough-talking interior minister has consistently been Hollande's most popular minister in surveys, replaced Jean-Marc Ayrault who quit following the ruling Socialist Party's rout in weekend local elections. While Valls is a public favorite, including with conservative voters, his centrist views make him more controversial with the left wing of the Socialist Party. Speculation has centered on whether Pierre Moscovici will remain in the powerful finance minister's job, while coalition sources have also talked about a possible return to government for Segolene Royal, Hollande's ex-partner and a former Socialist presidential candidate. Full Story | Top |
| Thai anti-government protester killed, rekindling political crisis Tuesday, Apr 01, 2014 03:47 AM PDT  By Amy Sawitta Lefevre BANGKOK (Reuters) - Gunmen opened fire on a group of Thai anti-government protesters driving away from a Bangkok rally on Tuesday, killing one, wounding four and raising tension in a political crisis that has gripped the country for months. It was not immediately clear who was responsible for the violence which brought the death toll to 24, with scores wounded, since protesters took to the streets in November in a bid to force Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra from office and erase the influence of her brother, ousted premier Thaksin Shinawatra. Yingluck has resisted mounting pressure to step down and her "red shirt" supporters have called for a mass rally in Bangkok on Sunday, raising the risk of further confrontation. One succumbed to a gunshot wound to the head," an official at Ramathibodi Hospital in Bangkok told Reuters. Full Story | Top |
| Hong Kong, New Zealand investigate banks for alleged FX manipulation Tuesday, Apr 01, 2014 03:20 AM PDT  Regulators in Hong Kong and New Zealand said on Tuesday that they are investigating banks' conduct in the foreign exchange market as part of an investigation tied to the global probe into FX markets. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) said in a statement after an inquiry from Reuters that it is requiring several banks to conduct independent reviews of their FX divisions and to then send the HKMA the results. "The HKMA is investigating into a number of banks in Hong Kong," an HKMA spokeswoman said in the statement. Full Story | Top |
| Japan relaxes arms export regime to fortify defense Tuesday, Apr 01, 2014 01:17 AM PDT  By Kiyoshi Takenaka and Nobuhiro Kubo TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan eased its weapons export restrictions on Tuesday in the first major overhaul of arms transfer policy in nearly half a century, as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe seeks to fortify ties with allies and bolster the domestic defense industry. In a move which alarmed China, where bitter memories of Japan's past militarism run deep, the government decided to allow arms exports and participation in joint weapons development and production when they serve international peace and Japan's security. That is a shift from a decades-old policy of banning all weapons exports in principle, although quite a few exceptions to the rule have been made over the years, such as the transfer of arms technology to the United States, Japan's closest ally. "If you live in a closed market like the Japanese defense industry does, you clearly lag behind in technological development." But even under the new regime, Japan is to focus mainly on non-lethal defense gear such as patrol ships and mine detectors and says it has no plan to export such weapons as tanks and fighter jets. Full Story | Top |
| Asia's manufacturing powers stutter, stir talk of policy support Tuesday, Apr 01, 2014 03:35 AM PDT  By Adam Rose and Leika Kihara BEIJING/TOKYO (Reuters) - Asia's major economies finished the first quarter on a weak note with manufacturing surveys in China and Japan fueling expectations that policymakers will be forced to act in coming months to prop up faltering growth. In China, the final Markit/HSBC Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) gauge of factory activity, fell to an eight-month low of 48.0 in March. In Japan, the closely watched central bank tankan survey showed business sentiment barely improved in the three months to March and was set to sour this quarter following an increase in sales tax that took effect on Tuesday. Investors are betting China will look to arrest the loss of momentum after what has shaped up to be its worst quarter in five years, by boosting or bringing forward spending on some infrastructure projects. Full Story | Top |
| Apple again seeks decisive U.S. court ruling against Samsung Tuesday, Apr 01, 2014 12:47 PM PDT  By Dan Levine SAN JOSE, California (Reuters) - An Apple Inc attorney told jurors the company deserves about $2 billion from Samsung for copying the iPhone, but a Samsung lawyer said Apple was merely seeking to make up for losing its lead in the smartphone market. Jurors awarded the iPhone maker about $930 million after a 2012 trial in San Jose, California, but Apple failed to persuade U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh to issue a permanent injunction against the sale of Samsung phones. A sales ban would be a far more serious threat to Samsung Electronics Co Ltd, which earned $7.7 billion in the quarter that ended in December. Samsung's mobile division, which includes smartphones, generated operating profit of 5.47 trillion won ($5.1 billion). Full Story | Top |
| U.S. ambassador to India resigns after diplomatic row Tuesday, Apr 01, 2014 02:10 AM PDT  By Frank Jack Daniel and David Brunnstrom NEW DELHI/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. ambassador to India has resigned following a row over the arrest of a junior Indian diplomat in New York that pushed relations between the world's biggest democracies to their lowest ebb in more than a decade. U.S. State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf denied on Monday that Nancy Powell's resignation was related to ongoing tensions after the December arrest and subsequent strip search of the Indian diplomat, Devyani Khobragade. The United States sees India as a natural ally on a range of issues and a potential counterbalance to China in Asia. In 2010, President Barack Obama declared the U.S.-Indian relationship would be "one of the defining partnerships of the 21st century." Trade in goods was $63.7 billion last year, and U.S. Vice President Joseph Biden last year called for that to grow to half a trillion dollars in five years. Full Story | Top |
| Israel may freeze settlement construction for peace talks Tuesday, Apr 01, 2014 04:14 AM PDT  By Lesley Wroughton and Maayan Lubell JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel may impose a partial settlement freeze to keep U.S.-brokered peace talks with the Palestinians alive, an Israeli source close to the negotiations said on Tuesday. The proposed halt to Israeli public construction in the occupied West Bank would be part of a package that includes the release of Jonathan Pollard, an Israeli spy jailed in the United States, and hundreds of Palestinians held by Israel. The source, who is close to talks held on Monday and Tuesday between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, said that in return for the Israeli steps, Palestinians would agree to extend the peace talks beyond an April 29 deadline into 2015. Full Story | Top |
| Unidentified drone crashed on South Korean border island: military Tuesday, Apr 01, 2014 02:19 AM PDT  An unmanned drone crashed on a South Korean island near a disputed maritime border with North Korea, a South Korean defense ministry official said on Tuesday, triggering an investigation into whether the aircraft was from the North. The drone fell on Baengnyeong island at about 4 p.m. on Monday, when North Korea fired hundreds of artillery rounds in seas close to a disputed maritime line. That triggered a similar show of strength from South Korea. The South Korean military was trying to verify where the drone had come from and what its purpose might have been, and was also looking into any possible link to North Korea's espionage operations, the military official told Reuters. Full Story | Top |
| Washington mudslide survivors envision shrine at disaster site Tuesday, Apr 01, 2014 04:07 PM PDT By Jonathan Kaminsky and Eric M. Johnson DARRINGTON, Washington (Reuters) - Survivors of a mudslide that virtually erased a community in Washington state and left dozens dead or missing have begun to contemplate the future of the disaster site, with many saying it should be left as a shrine once the bulldozers and excavators leave. As stagnant pools of muddy water receded further during a second straight sunny day on Tuesday, recovery teams pressed on with their search for victims of the March 22 slide, triggered when a rain-soaked hillside caved in above the north fork of the Stillaguamish River. The Snohomish County Medical Examiner's Office said 19 of the confirmed fatalities have now been identified, including a 4-month-old girl and two other children aged 5 and 6. Ruth Hargrave, 67, whose neighbors are among the dead and missing, said she could not imagine rebuilding the beloved riverside vacation house that was in the path of the slide. Full Story | Top |
| China factories struggle, adds to expectations for stimulus Monday, Mar 31, 2014 11:36 PM PDT  By Kevin Yao and Adam Rose BEIJING (Reuters) - Persistent weakness in China's manufacturing sector reinforced fears of a sharper-than-expected slowdown at the start of 2014, and some government economists think authorities have already started boosting spending to put a floor under growth. On Tuesday two surveys showed that manufacturing struggled in March, with activity at smaller, private firms contracting for a third month, adding to a run of disappointing data that has sparked speculation of imminent government-led stimulus. "We're still in a subdued part of the cycle," said Louis Kuijs, chief China economist at the Royal Bank of Scotland. "I still don't think the downward pressures are tremendous, but they are large enough for the government to really start to talk about the need to support growth." In March, sources told Reuters the central bank was prepared to loosen monetary policy in order to keep the world's second-biggest economy growing at the government's target rate of 7.5 percent. Full Story | Top |
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