Pacific trade talks progress but gap remains between U.S., Japan

(Reuters) - Negotiations for an ambitious trade pact among Pacific countries made significant progress over the weekend but there is still a gap between Japan and the United States over market access and other hurdles, trade representatives said on Monday.

The Tailwinds For Asia's Growth In 2014

Asia, and China in particular, has been touted as the driver pulling the crisis-infested developed world away from the brink of a global financial cliff.

Asia-Pacific may soon have more outstanding corporate debt than the US, the euro zone and the UK combined

For better or worse, Asian companies are loading up on debt at a staggering rate. By 2017, Standard & Poor’s estimated in a report this week, non-financial corporate debt for Asia-Pacific countries will balloon to $29.9 billion, assuming corporate debt is issued at the rate of economic growth (as pictured above).