Why China would love ‘President Rick Perry’

SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. (MarketWatch) — China must be secretly rooting for a guy like Rick Perry as the next U.S. president. They’d love competing against an America led by another Texas governor who talks from a big hat, loves war spending and tea parties, thinks the Fed chairman is acting “treasonous,” believes Social Security is a “Ponzi scheme” and admits he’s an antiscience, antievolution, anti-intellectual who will turn back the clock to the 19th century frontier Wild West.

Yes, China’s rooting for a guy who will not only make Washington “inconsequential” for all Americans, he’ll make America “inconsequential” in a world where China knows that its competitive edge and economic growth all hinge on investing in science, innovation and intellectuals with a vision of the future.

Japanese PM vows to tackle fiscal mess, revitalize quake-hit regions

TOKYO, Sept. 13 (Xinhua) -- Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda said on Tuesday his government's primary focus is on revitalizing regions devastated by the March disasters and rescuing the nation from its dire financial predicament.

In his first major policy speech given at a special session of the Diet in Tokyo, Noda, Japan's third prime minister in two years, struck an emotional chord, vowing to deliver a watertight strategy by the end of this year to kick start the nation's sluggish economy and enhance restoration efforts in the wake of the March disasters that pummeled key infrastructures and left 20,000 people dead or unaccounted for.

Lower economic growth forces down IEA oil demand projections

Dimmer global economic growth assumptions and lower-than-expected oil demand during the third quarter in developing countries have driven down expected worldwide oil demand growth, according to the International Energy Agency’s latest monthly Oil Market Report.

However, stronger-than-expected oil demand in the developed countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), mostly in the US, as well as power generation demand in Japan, anticipated Libyan demand recovery, and demand strength in the Middle East offset some of the demand weakness, IEA said.

Stocks flat, euro slips on economic worries

NEW YORK: Global stocks were little changed and the euro fell on Thursday as worries over worsening economic conditions in Europe and the United States clamped down appetite for riskier investments.

Nervous investors piled back into gold, German and US government bonds and other assets perceived as safe havens.

Geithner: Global economy threatened by politics

The biggest problem facing the global economy is not economic but political, according to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner.

In an op-ed to be published Friday by the Financial Times, Geithner argues that "political paralysis" is the biggest threat to continued economic recovery, and calls on policymakers both domestic and abroad to step up to the plate.

U.S. Stocks Plunge on Global Economic Fears

The Dow Jones Industrial Average plummeted as low as 300 points this morning as Europe's debt crisis thickens and the U.S. service industries continues its anemic growth. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index has fallen for a third day today, down 2.5 percent. CNN Money emphasizes the economic woes in Europe:

Stocks in Europe were also under pressure. The DAX in Germany fell 1.3% and France's CAC 40 was down 1.3%. Britain's FTSE 100 held modest gains. European markets plunged Monday amid ongoing worries that unresolved debt problems in Greece may be spreading to larger nations such as Italy and Spain.

World Bank, China Advance Work on China Economy’s Future

The FINANCIAL -- BEIJING, September 5, 2011 – China and the World Bank are making significant progress on a joint report on how the world’s second largest economy can move to a path of sustainable growth in the face of today’s challenging global economic situation, said World Bank Group President Robert B. Zoellick.

Commenting in Beijing on a weekend workshop with senior Chinese officials and outside experts, Zoellick said there was agreement that China would have to rebalance its economy, improve the environment, reduce inequality and advance the quality of life for its people while at the same time maintaining rapid growth.