Chinese banks' forex surplus hits $26b in Sept

BEIJING-- China's foreign exchange regulator said Monday that the total surplus of Chinese banks' foreign exchange from bank-to-client transactions reached $26 billion in September.
In September, institutional and individual clients sold $142.6 billion in foreign currencies to banks while purchasing $116.6 billion, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) said in an online statement.
From January to September, more foreign currencies were sold than purchased through Chinese banks, resulting in $380.7 billion of foreign exchange surplus during the period, the statement said.
Foreign exchange surplus, which makes up part of China's foreign exchange reserves along with current account surplus and foreign direct investment inflow, does not include banks' own foreign exchange transactions or interbank transactions, according to the SAFE.
Last year, foreign exchange surplus made through Chinese banks' transactions with domestic clients increased 51 percent year-on-year to reach $397.7 billion, SAFE data showed.

Tribunal orders Qantas & unions to end strike

Qantas Airways and its unions have been ordered to immediately end all industrial action and return to the negotiating table in an effort to resolve a prolonged industrial dispute.

An Australian industrial tribunal has ordered Qantas Airways and its unions to immediately end all industrial action and return to the negotiating table in an effort to resolve a prolonged industrial dispute.
Fair Work Australia was appointed by the government after Qantas grounded its entire global fleet, affecting almost 500 flights and more than 68,000 passengers.
Qantas and the three unions now have 21 days to reach an agreement or face binding arbitration, the tribunal said.

Earlier, Qantas Chief Executive Alan Joyce said there were no guarantees the airline would resume flying unless the three-person tribunal ordered all industrial action terminated, rather than suspended, to ensure the company and passengers had sufficient certainty.
Unions had been pushing for industrial action to be suspended for between 90 and 120 days.
Staff have been locked-out by management until three unions involved in the dispute reached a deal over pay, conditions and plans to outsource some operations to Asia.
Mr Joyce said the striking unions were destabalising the company and he was left with no other option.

The carrier said: "The financial impact of action taken to date has reached A$68m and the action is costing Qantas approximately A$15m per week in lost revenue".

Japan central bank expands monetary easing

TOKYO – Japan's central bank on Thursday kept its key interest rate at nearly zero and will expand the size of an asset buying program to lend stronger support to the economy.
The Bank of Japan's policy board decided unanimously at a one-day meeting to leave the overnight call rate target at zero to 0.1 percent.
It voted 8-1 to increase its asset purchase program by 5 trillion yen to 55 trillion yen ($723 billion). It will use the extra funds to buy Japanese government bonds, hoping that further monetary easing will offset the export-sapping strength of the yen.
Uncertainty about the U.S. and European economies helped push the dollar to a record low against the yen for a second straight day Wednesday.

Both the dollar and the yen typically serve as safe, stable investments during periods of uncertainty. The yen has gained favor against the dollar in part because traders fear that the Federal Reserve will take more action to bring down long-term interest rates.
The central bank still expects the world's No. 3 economy to eventually return to moderate growth.
"However, some more time will be needed to confirm that price stability is in sight and due attention is needed for the risk that the economic and price outlook will further deteriorate depending on developments in global financial markets and overseas economies," it said in a statement.
The central bank pledged to maintain powerful monetary easing, ensure stability in financial markets and foster economic growth. However, it added that it can't go at it alone.
"It is important for concerned parties in both the private and government sectors to continue making efforts in their respective roles while making use of accommodative financial conditions," it said.
"by newsonjapan"

iPhone 4S’ Siri VS Microsoft and Google

In a recent interview, Andy Rubin, Senior Vice President of Mobile at Google raised eyebrows when he referred to Apple’s new handset and the vocal Siri on a slightly patronizing tone. “ I don’t believe your phone should be an assistant…Your phone is a tool for communicating,” he said, “You shouldn’t be communicating with the phone; you should be communicating with somebody on the other side of the phone.” Andy Lees, president of Microsoft’s Windows Phone Division didn’t show more fair-play to the rival’s success and commented that Siri “isn’t super useful.” He didn’t miss the opportunity to point out that Windows Phone 7 with its voice interactivity can connect to Bing and make the best of Internet power.
Both reactions seemed to reveal more of a frustration than a genuine disapproval of Siri’s importance. Apple’s new feature is obviously a new way of interaction between users and their devices and many believe that this is just the beginning.

iPhone 4S is most likely to have a powerful impact on users’ expectations from now on. Even though the technology isn’t entirely new, Apple managed to give it its own magic by fully integrating it in the operating system and making it a star. Rumors say that Apple is interested in voice recognition for almost two decades. Tim Bajarin, writes for TechPinions, that in the early 1990’s Kaifu Li, then an important Apple employee, was trying to develop voice recognition and speech technology, at the time called Plain Talk.
Siri’s know-it-all attitude relies on powerful databases, such as Yelp and Wolfram Alpha. When searching for businesses Siri connects through these databases to Google Maps and even if at a first glance, this could be a good thing for Google it is also vulnerability on the long run. Analysts believe that Google already fears that Apple could develop its own mapping system and with the help of an already highly praised technology Apple can cash in a big chunk of revenue from adds and business location.
In other words, for the competitors, Siri is not just a useless tool but a gateway for future wayw of interacting with devices. And Apple got here first.

Bangkok facing 'Perfect Storm'

(CNN) -- Thailand is facing its worst flooding since 1942, with 373 people dead, more than nine million affected and 28 -- or more than a third -- of the nation's provinces at least partially flooded after a series of strong seasonal storms that brought exceptional rainfall.
More than a billion cubic meters of runoff are expected to pass through some of the northern parts of Bangkok on its way toward the Gulf of Thailand, some 30 kilometers (20 miles) away, as high tides are set to peak on Saturday.
CNN takes a look at what the low-lying Thai capital, which straddles the Chao Phraya River, is experiencing, with insights from Craig Steffensen, Asian Development Bank's country director for Thailand.
Q. What do high tides mean for the city?
"Picture the equivalent of 480,000 Olympic-sized pools of water trying to make their way through Bangkok at the moment," Steffensen said Friday. "Combined with the floodwaters trying to get out and the tides coming in...we could see a perfect storm in Bangkok. "
The capital lies barely above sea level and is already sinking within the Chao Phraya delta, as sea levels in the Gulf of Thailand rise.
The city is protected by dikes, but they may not be high enough to cope with the current flooding. "Barriers on the north side of Bangkok are 3 to 3.5 meters (10 to 11.5 feet) high, and water is penetrating these barriers," Steffensen pointed out.
Photos: Heavy flooding in Thailand
Especially hard-hit are the industrial areas to the north, Ayutthaya and Pathum Thani.
Bangkok near peak flooding
Authorities have been diverting waters to the east and west of Bangkok to get them out to the Gulf. But dam levels are already at 100 percent capacity, if not more, said Steffensen.
Floodwaters shut down airport in Bangkok
"It's anybody's guess what Bangkok will look like in next 24-48 hours," he added.
Bangkok road becomes river
Q. How protected is the historic heart of the city?
Floodwaters have already reached roads around Bangkok's historic Grand Palace and Emerald Buddha Temple. According to MCOT, the Thai media company, the level of the Chao Phraya River had reached 2.46 meters (8 feet), or sea level, and was expected to rise further by evening.
Flooding had already affected more than 200 of 500 temples in Ayutthaya province, home to the World Heritage Site, its governor has said.
Further assessment cannot be made until the water recedes, however.
Q. Has the transportation network been able to weather the floods, given the elevated roads and rail network?
Bangkok's main international and domestic Suvarnabhumi airport is operating normally and is protected with a 22.5 km (14-mile), 3-meter (10-foot ) dike system. Also running are the elevated Skytrain and the underground metro system.
Nearly 80 highways in 15 provinces are impassable, and northbound rail services have been suspended, according to the government. However, trade and commerce have picked up, as people find ways to bypass the floods by going east or west in order to reach the north, Steffensen noted.
Don Muang Airport, which primarily services domestic flights, has been closed since Tuesday night after floodwaters inundated runways and affected the lighting. Nok Air and Orient Thai, which both usually operate from there, have since moved operations to Suvarnabhumi.
The flood relief operation will nonetheless continue to operate from Don Muang, which had housed flood victims but was forced to evacuate them to other locations.
Q. How is Bangkok holding up, as far as water supplies, sanitation and power supplies?
Floods in areas to the northeast of Bangkok have forced people to upper floors of dwellings and led to the loss of electricity, water supply and sanitation. Access to drinking water in remote areas is a concern.
Steffensen said that despite being in a location that isn't near floods, "the tap water in our residences has taken a funny smell." People are choosing bottled water over boiled water, but finding bottled water in stores is difficult because the shelves are empty.
Power supply, internet and telephone service are functioning normally in the center of Bangkok, he said.

Q. What is the economic toll?
The World Bank has estimated a 2 percent decline in GDP because of the floods.
"The urban poor is mostly likely to be the hardest hit," said Steffensen. Most of the flooding has occurred in flood-prone areas with condensed housing
Floods have caused $5 billion in damage to industries and half a dozen industrial estates, said Steffensen, with Japanese industries alone facing losses of at least half that amount, he said.
Read more about Thai floods stalling automakers
Although he expressed reluctance to talk about the overall economic impact at this point, Steffensen said certain things were clear: "Rice production will decrease in Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam, and rice prices will be affected. That billions of dollars of investment in the industrial sector are underwater are bound to affect Thailand's exports, employment situation, economic growth and development."
Industrial estates could take weeks if not months to drain and get production lines back running again, creating bumps in supply chains and possibly affecting manufacturers' abilities to get good on shelves by Christmas, he added.
Rice exports were expected to drop 50 percent in October from the monthly average of 1 million tonnes, according to the Thai Rice Exporters Association.
Q. What are the positives for Bangkok right now?
The floods have proven to be a political test for the new prime minister, Yingluck Shinawatra, who was elected in July. "The government has gone all out, everything they could possibly do to mitigate the impact of these floods," said Steffensen. But more striking is the resilience of the Thai people, he said.
"In relief centers and more generally across the country, no one's talking about red shirts or yellow shirts. All people are talking about the floods, helping one another. These floods have healed the country in a way that many people don't appreciate today because the floods are about to come through Bangkok."
Q. What vulnerabilities will Bangkok need to address?
Authorities will need to raise dikes and invest in pump station capacity, coastal zone protection and land use planning, Steffensen said. The increasing number of floods in Thailand and the region are consistent with what's expected as a result of climate change.
Bangkok and other Asian coastal megacities -- like Ho Chi Minh City and Manila -- will flood more often and on a larger scale, if current climate change trends continue, he added, citing a joint report by the ADB, World Bank and Japan International Cooperation Agency last year.