Yuan set to regain strength
September 19, 2008
MARKET watchers predict the yuan to recover later this year as a rebound in the United States dollar is expected to lose steam.
The Chinese currency’s appreciation will continue later this year, said Jan Lambregts, a Rabobank economist. He said the government’s control of inflation and a long-term move toward a more flexible exchange rate regime will also back the yuan to climb later this year.
China’s consumer price index, the main gauge of inflation, slowed to 4.9 percent last month from 6.3 percent in July. But the producer price index inched up to 10.1 percent from July’s 10 percent.
Lambregts said the yuan may gain 8.2 percent for the whole of this year, with the currency’s rise slowing to 4 percent next year.
As soon as there is a pause in the US dollar’s rise globally, the People’s Bank of China, the central bank, may take the opportunity to allow the yuan to resume its gradual climb, according to traders
Source: China Daily
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Madison’s Public Parking: a Nightmare for Everyone
September 18, 2008
Those who bring their car with them to Madison have to brave a concrete jungle of parking meters and yellow paint. They must face the joys and perils of parking in the city.
Some are too strapped for cash to pay the ridiculous prices landlords charge
for a parking space, while others fall victim to an architect who did not see fit to provide enough parking space for all tenants. For these individuals, the city sells mercifully cheap residential parking passes, just $21 annually. The kicker? They sell more permits than there are spaces.
The City of Madison Parking Utility ironically—and comically—declares on its website that “more permits are sold than there are available on-street parking spaces.” It also suggests that residents seek alternatives to on-street parking. Thanks for the warning.
The permit allows individuals to park their car on the street for 48 hours at a time. The Parking Utility claims the purpose of the Residential Parking Permit Program is to prevent commuter parking on residential streets. Another aim seems to be swelling the Utility’s wallet by charging students for exceeding the 48-hour limit.
But once a driver scores that treasured parking space, it’s difficult to give it up simply because the Parking Utility believes drivers must go for a spin every other day.
I
concede that if the 48-hour limit is a constant issue for an individual, they probably don’t need a car in the first place. However, between spending all day in classes, studying at Helen C. White, doing laundry and occasionally washing a dish or two, sometimes there just isn’t time to drive anywhere.
Once the clock is about to strike the 48th hour, there is a decision to make: chance being the next victim of the parking utility’s ticket-wielding minions, or drive
in circles around the block waiting for a space to free up. These
parking-space hunts are usually accompanied by exclamations of, “If
that bastard would have just pulled forward a couple feet,” “Damn fire
hydrant false alarms,” and bold contemplations of difficult parallel
parking feats.
Then there’s the chalk mark that the city tags on your car. When it appears on your tire, the parking minions will be back to give you your ticket if you haven’t moved. But there are ways of avoiding the fine. If there is some space in front or behind your vehicle, simply move it a foot to conceal the mark and you’ve bought yourself another 48 hours. However, this tactic is only acceptable if you are in a pinch for time, as the toolish nature of the
act renders it unacceptable for frequent use.
Winter is perhaps the most fun time to have a car in Madison. Complying with the 48-hour limit is particularly daunting when you must first unbury your vehicle from a foot of snow. The joys of the “Snow Emergency” also make winter a fun time for all.
Some extra breathing room for the parking time limit would make the lives of students at the mercy of on-street parking less stressful. Increasing the limit to 72 hours should do the trick. If you are not using your car frequently enough that even a 72-hour limit causes you strife, you definitely don’t need it.
The parking utility has made small steps to resolve the parking shortage. Ten-hour meters have been installed in some areas as a less expensive alternative—50 cents per hour—to the shorter-term meters. Twenty-two of the meters are conveniently located on Langdon Street between Henry Street and Wisconsin Avenue. The city should consider the welcomed addition of more 10-hour meters in the campus area.
In the meantime, if a car isn’t necessary, leave it home for your own sanity. Then the poor saps who need to drive to an internship or job can come home and not have to scour the congested streets for that elusive free gap of curb, an oasis in the desert.
Michelle Turcotte is a senior majoring in journalism. Please send responses to opinion@dailycardinal.com
Source: http://www.dailycardinal.com
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China Reduces Import Taxes on Equipment Spare Parts
September 17, 2008
16 September 2008-China has reduced import taxes on spare parts of large equipment in an effort to aid domestic manufacturing.
Taxes paid by domestic manufacturers of large equipment for imports made after Jan. 1, 2008 will be refunded. These include key spare parts of large equipment such as ultra- and extra-high voltage transmission equipment and transformers, large petro-chemical equipment and large coal-chemical equipment.
The government has also canceled the import tariff exemption on some complete sets.
The tax exemption does not apply for the approved importation of some complete sets of equipment by domestic and foreign-funded projects made after Sept. 1.
On the other hand, imports of such equipment by enterprises approved before Sept. 1 will continue to enjoy previous tax policies until March 1,2009.
Source:Xinhua
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Which Chinese City for Invesment ?
September 16, 2008
Hangzhou was named the best place to do business in China for a fifth consecutive year according to a recent Forbes survey.
Shanghai came in at No 2, with Beijing remaining in sixth position for the second straight year. Wuxi was third, Nanjing fourth and Ningbo fifth.
Forbes China short-listed 194 mainland cities from a pool of 652 candidates with an annual GDP above 19 billion yuan in 2006.
Of the top 42 cities, 10 are from Jiangsu province, nine are from Zhejiang and seven are from Guangdong. Cities in the Yangtze River Delta rated well, despite the gloomy global economic outlook, the survey said.
In Zhejiang province alone, over 5,000 SMEs emerged this year. Jiangsu province’s Changzhou, with its environmental protection industry and great market potential, has outdone other cities to move into ninth place.
Forbes list was based on each city’s climate for business start-ups and private capital, which is why Hangzhou beat Shanghai for the top placing. In Hangzhou, more than 92 percent of the city’s GDP is created by private companies, but Shanghai is the traditional business center for foreign investment.
Source: Shanghai Daily
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Yuan gains stall against firm dollar
September 14, 2008
THE yuan yesterday completed a third weekly loss on speculation China will favor a moderate pace of appreciation as industrial production grew at the slowest pace in six years on weaker export demand.
Gains in the currency, Asia’s best performer this year, stalled as the United States dollar index, which tracks the greenback against those of six trading partners, advanced 10 percent this quarter. Production rose 12.8 percent in August from a year earlier, the statistics bureau said yesterday, after gaining 14.7 percent in July, Bloomberg News reported. [Read more]
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