UBS to boost Asia-Pac IB headcount by 20 pct in 2011

HONG KONG, March 31 (Reuters) - Swiss bank UBS AG (UBSN.VX), the leader in equity underwriting in the Asia Pacific region, plans to double its China staff in three to four years and boost its investment banking head count in the region by 20 percent this year, two top officials said on Thursday.

UBS is betting on continued strong equity issuances in the region, led by Chinese companies. The pipeline of initial public offerings (IPOs) is stronger than last year this time, Matthew Hanning, head of investment banking (IB) for Asia Pacific, told Reuters in an interview.

Analysis: Asia braces for its date with demographic destiny

(Reuters) - If demography is destiny, as the French philosopher Auguste Comte put it, then Asia faces daunting challenges in the coming decades.

Markets understandably track the rate and composition of gross domestic product to gauge short-term economic shifts.

But it is changes to the underlying productive capacity of an economy that count in the long run. Swing factors include openness to outside capital and ideas as well as the quality of education and governance.

UPS Joins FedEx in Adding Asia Flights as Economic Recovery Stokes Demand

United Parcel Service Inc. (UPS) is adding four flights a week from Hong Kong to Europe and FedEx Corp. (FDX) will start a new nonstop route to South Korea as growth in Asian shipping demand outpaces expansion in the U.S.

Asia is “a growth market and they need to keep adding capacity and speed,” said David Campbell, an analyst with Thompson Davis & Co., in Richmond, Virginia. “If they have more direct service, they’re going to get more traffic because it’s easier for the customers there to use them.”

India Sensex Has Biggest Weekly Jump in 20 Months; Infosys Leads

Indian stocks rallied, with the benchmark index posting its biggest weekly gain in 20 months, as speculation that global economic recovery will be sustained spurred gains in equities across Asia. Software makers jumped.

Infosys Technologies Ltd., the nation’s second-largest software-services provider, climbed 5.3 percent, the most since July 2009. Asian stocks increased, tracking a rally in U.S. equities, after U.S. initial jobless claims data signaled the labor market in the largest economy is mending. Wipro Ltd., the third-biggest, advanced 3.7 percent. Tata Consultancy Services Ltd., the largest, added 2.4 percent.

Global growth tipped to fuel resources rise

Asia's economic pace has been moderating after a sharp rebound from the global financial crisis, said the World Bank this week.

However, the bank said, "over the medium term, East Asia has the potential to sustain rapid increases in living standards, even as the global economy enters a more challenging phase".

China inflation looms large for mining

Global miners and smelters face difficult times after two years of easy growth, as a battle against inflation by Asia's economic powerhouses holds back demand, though Japan's reconstruction after its disastrous earthquake could bring a mild lift.

China, the engine of global growth in demand for industrial metals, is the major concern shared by giants such as BHP Billiton (BHP.AX) BHP.L and Rio Tinto (RIO.AX) (RIO.L), as well as thousands of junior miners.

World Bank tells East Asia to tighten

Speaking at a forum in Singapore, the country's Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam said Japan's nuclear crisis could hurt consumer and business confidence.

"Confidence is affected in a different way from a one-off natural disaster," said Tharman, tipped to be the next head of the International Monetary Fund's International Monetary and Financial Committee.

Asia set to ride out quake’s economic shock

As the tragedy from the Japanese earthquake continues to unfold, a natural assumption is that the severe economic dislocation in the world’s third-largest economy must be having a serious impact on its neighbours.

The truth, though, is that Japan’s suffering is unlikely to be more than a temporary blip on economic growth in most of Asia, which will probably keep growing at 8 per cent or so on average – unless there is a massive nuclear accident that directly affects neighbouring countries.

Economic aftershocks of Japan quake roil Asia, but Japan Inc.’s long decline cushions impact

Economic aftershocks of the devastation in Japan are rolling through Asia. It is here, among Japan’s neighbors, that the reverberations of the catastrophe are being felt hardest.

Automakers in Thailand are slowing production. South Korean electronics manufacturers face shortages of critical parts. Thousands of Japanese have canceled trips to Taiwan. Panic buying has driven up prices of Japanese cameras in China, while Indian policymakers brace for higher oil prices.

US, EU stabilizing, but Asia poses economic worry: S&P

SINGAPORE -- Just as growth is stabilizing in the long-troubled United States and Europe, concerns are now emerging about Asia's economic health.

The unfolding disaster in Japan following last Friday's earthquake, along with the turmoil in the Arab world, have raised questions about economic growth in these regions, said ratings agency Standard & Poor's chief global economist David Wyss.

Inflation a major challenge for Asia-Pacific: S&P

Controlling inflationary pressure is a major challenge for policymakers in many Asia-Pacific economies even though these economies remain strong in 2011.

Labour shortages, capacity constraints, along with rising commodity and food prices would push inflation ahead of many central bank comfort ranges, according to David Wyss, Standard & Poor's (S&P) Global Chief Economist, and Dharmakirti Joshi, Chief Economist at CRISIL, a Standard & Poor's company. S&P is a leading global rating company.

When the world's third largest economy gets a battering, we all suffer

Of the 725 foreign-owned firms operating in Northern Ireland, just 10 are Japanese owned.

However, despite Japan's small share of foreign-direct investment and tourist traffic into Northern Ireland, the impact of recent developments will still have a significant impact on the local economy.

China rules out faster yuan rise despite soaring prices

The Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao has ruled out any changes to China's policy on its currency, the yuan.

China has been battling inflation, with consumer prices rising 4.9% in February from the same month a year ago.

Analysts had suggested that allowing the yuan to strengthen against the US dollar could make imports cheaper, thus reducing costs.

Japan looks for market stability after quake

Japan's central bank will hold an emergency meeting tomorrow to discuss how to maintain financial stability in the markets following the devastating earthquake and the nuclear alert.

The authorities said yesterday they want to ensure there is enough liquidity in the financial system so that companies and investors can start rebuilding. They will also put emergency plans in place for the public to have access to cash as so many banks and cash machines have been wiped out by the quake.

Japan earthquake: Production halted at factories

Production has been halted at many factories in Japan, as companies assess the damage of the earthquake and tsunami on the north-east coast.

Sony, Toyota, Nissan and Honda are among firms to have closed plants.

Economists say the earthquake and tsunami could have a "profound" impact on Japan's economy - the world's third largest - although it is too early to make any judgements.

China's inflation steadies on government price measures

Chinese inflation stabilised in February, helped by government and central bank measures to rein in price growth.

Consumer prices rose 4.9% from a year earlier, the same rate as in January, the National Bureau of Statistics said.

Analysts had forecast a figure nearer 4.7%, but said it was more significant that the rate of growth had steadied.

Asia’s Rise Reshapes Global Economy, Prices, RBA’s Stevens Says

Asia’s emergence as the global economy’s engine of growth is boosting prices of food, energy and minerals and inhibiting recoveries from the U.S. to Europe, Reserve Bank of Australia Governor Glenn Stevens said.

“Prices are under upward pressure because of rising demand, but it is the demand coming from a couple of billion people in Asia seeking, and in many cases rapidly converging on, the way of life that the advanced countries have enjoyed for decades,” Stevens said in the text of a speech in London today. He didn’t directly address Australian monetary policy in the remarks.

China to invest $200bn in low-cost homes to curb prices

China will build 10 million low-cost homes this year at a cost of $200bn (£124bn), a government minister has said.

The move comes as soaring home prices spur complaints about affordability.

China PM vows to reduce inflation

China's government has vowed to clamp down on inflation and urgently raise incomes, as Wen Jiabao, the country's premier, devoted most of a major national address to addressing citizens' economic concerns.

Addressing the opening of the National People's Congress on Saturday, Jiabao said the country's working class and rural residents would receive more assistance from the government, in a move aimed at sharing the benefits of rapid economic growth across more sectors of society.

ASEAN's role growing as Asia becomes centre of global economic growth

Asia is now the centre of global economic growth, and this makes the role of ASEAN more critical than ever before, said Dr Surin Pitsuwan, Secretary-General of ASEAN.

He was speaking on Thursday at a session of the "Delhi Dialogue" in the Indian capital, New Delhi.

Dr Surin added that if ASEAN nations face a financial crisis today, its impact will be far worse than the US sub-prime crisis in 2009.

S Korea inflation jumps in February to a 27-month high

South Korea's inflation rate has hit a 27-month high in February, driven by rising food and fuel costs.

The consumer price index rose by 4.5% in February, compared with the same month a year earlier, the statistical office said.

China's US debt holdings jump 30% easing financing fear

The US owes more money to China than it had previously estimated, government figures show.

According to the Treasury Department's revised figures, Beijing's total holding of US debt was $1.16 trillion (£712bn) in December, up $268bn from an initial estimate two weeks ago.