China reform plans lift shares, Dow, S&P 500 at new highs

By Herbert Lash

NEW YORK Mon Nov 18, 2013 11:06am EST

1 of 8. An employee of a foreign exchange trading company looks at monitors in Tokyo November 15, 2013.

Credit: Reuters/Toru Hanai

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Global equity markets climbed on Monday, riding economic reform plans in China, while the dollar slipped and benchmark U.S. stock indices rose to record highs, buoyed by the prospect of continued Federal Reserve stimulus.

Chinese shares listed in Hong Kong posted their biggest gain in nearly two years, while the Dow and S&P 500 surged past the psychological barriers of 16,000 and 1,800, respectively. Both U.S. indices pared some gains soon after markets opened.

The safe-haven dollar and Japanese yen fell after China announced its most sweeping economic and social reforms in nearly three decades, boosting investor appetite for higher-yielding currencies such as the Australian and New Zealand dollars.

The growth-linked currencies outperformed as a flood of global liquidity and promises to keep interest rates low continue to weigh on low-yielding currencies such as the dollar and the yen.

"Risk appetite is strong... after details of China's reform prove more dramatic than expected, suggesting a focus on market liberalization and reforms in both the government role and the broader corporate structure," said Camilla Sutton, chief currency strategist at Scotiabank in Toronto.

The China Enterprises Index .HSCE of the top Chinese listings in Hong Kong soared 5.7 percent for its biggest daily gain since December 1, 2011.

Germany's DAX .GDAXI hit a record high as European shares resumed their rally on an improving outlook for the region's economy.

MSCI's all-country world stock index .MIWD00000PUS rose 0.53 percent, while the pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index .FTEU3 rose 0.46 percent.

The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI was up 49.70 points, or 0.31 percent, at 16,011.40. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index .SPX was up 1.66 points, or 0.09 percent, at 1,799.84. The Nasdaq Composite Index .IXIC was up 1.98 points, or 0.05 percent, at 3,987.95.

U.S. Treasury debt prices made narrow gains, supported by the prospect of the Fed's continued "easy" monetary policy, but limited by investors' clear preference for riskier assets in light of that accommodation.

The dollar index .DXY, a measure of the greenback against a basket of currencies, slipped 0.24 percent to 80.661.

The euro drew some support after data showed the euro zone's trade surplus grew more than expected in September. The euro was up 0.29 percent at 1.3534.

The Australian dollar rose 0.33 percent to US$0.9399, while the New Zealand dollar gained 0.34 percent to US$0.8369.

Brent crude oil fell toward $108 a barrel after a week of sharp gains ahead of talks between Iran and the West that could lead to an increase in Iranian crude oil exports.

January Brent crude was down 16 cents at $108.34 a barrel, while U.S. crude for December delivery was up 16 cents at $94.00.

Trading in the U.S. Treasury market was comparatively subdued, with the benchmark 10-year Treasury note up 8/32, leaving its yield at 2.6765 percent.

Bund futures rose 15 ticks to 141.78, while 10-year German yields fell to 1.69 percent.

Germany's ZEW business sentiment indicator on Tuesday and the minutes from the Federal Reserve's October policy meeting on Wednesday may provide hints to future monetary policy moves.

(Additional reporting by Marc Jones in London; Editing by Dan Grebler)

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Fossil fish find in China fills in evolutionary picture

By Tim Hurd

SYDNEY | Thu Sep 26, 2013 12:24am EDT

SYDNEY (Reuters) - An international team of scientists in China has discovered what may be the earliest known creature with a distinct face, a 419 million-year-old fish that could be a missing link in the development of vertebrates.

The fossil find in China's Xiaoxiang Reservoir, reported by the journal "Nature" on Thursday, is the most primitive vertebrate discovered with a modern jaw, including a dentary bone found in humans.

" finally solves an age-old problem about the origin of modern fishes," said John Long, a professor in palaeontology at Flinders University in Adelaide.

Scientists were surprised to find that the heavily armoured fish, Entelognathus primordialis, a previously unknown member of the now extinct placoderm family, had a complex small skull and jaw bones.

That appeared to disprove earlier theories that modern vertebrates with bony skeletons, called osteichthyes, had evolved from a shark-like creature with a frame made of cartilage.

Instead, the new find provides a missing branch on the evolutionary tree, predating that shark-like creature and showing that a bony skeleton was the prototype for both bony and cartilaginous vertebrates.

"We now know that ancient armoured placoderms gave rise to the modern fish fauna as we know it," said Long, who was not part of the team in China.

Long described the discovery as "the most exciting news in palaeontology since Archaeopteryx or Lucy", referring to two fossil discoveries that are crucial to our understanding of the evolution of birds and humans.

"Nature" did not detail when the fossil was found.

(Editing by Jane Wardell and Paul Tait)

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Fossil fish find in China fills in evolutionary picture

By Tim Hurd

SYDNEY | Thu Sep 26, 2013 12:24am EDT

SYDNEY (Reuters) - An international team of scientists in China has discovered what may be the earliest known creature with a distinct face, a 419 million-year-old fish that could be a missing link in the development of vertebrates.

The fossil find in China's Xiaoxiang Reservoir, reported by the journal "Nature" on Thursday, is the most primitive vertebrate discovered with a modern jaw, including a dentary bone found in humans.

" finally solves an age-old problem about the origin of modern fishes," said John Long, a professor in palaeontology at Flinders University in Adelaide.

Scientists were surprised to find that the heavily armoured fish, Entelognathus primordialis, a previously unknown member of the now extinct placoderm family, had a complex small skull and jaw bones.

That appeared to disprove earlier theories that modern vertebrates with bony skeletons, called osteichthyes, had evolved from a shark-like creature with a frame made of cartilage.

Instead, the new find provides a missing branch on the evolutionary tree, predating that shark-like creature and showing that a bony skeleton was the prototype for both bony and cartilaginous vertebrates.

"We now know that ancient armoured placoderms gave rise to the modern fish fauna as we know it," said Long, who was not part of the team in China.

Long described the discovery as "the most exciting news in palaeontology since Archaeopteryx or Lucy", referring to two fossil discoveries that are crucial to our understanding of the evolution of birds and humans.

"Nature" did not detail when the fossil was found.

(Editing by Jane Wardell and Paul Tait)

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China to land first probe on moon this year

China's Shenzhou 10 spacecraft and its carrier Long March 2-F rocket are seen being transferred to its launching site at Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Jiuquan, Gansu province June 3, 2013.

Credit: Reuters/Stringer

BEIJING | Wed Aug 28, 2013 10:07am EDT

BEIJING (Reuters) - China will land its first probe on the moon at the end of this year, state media reported on Wednesday, the next step in an ambitious space program which includes eventually building a space station.

In 2007, China launched its first moon orbiter, the Chang'e One orbiter, named after a lunar goddess, which took images of the surface and analyzed the distribution of elements.

That launch marked the first step in China's three-stage moon mission, to be followed by an unmanned moon mission and then the retrieval of lunar soil and stone samples around 2017.

The official Xinhua news agency said that the Chang'e Three was on track for a landing towards the end of the year.

"Chang'e Three has officially entered its launch implementation stage following its research and construction period," it cited a government statement as saying.

"The mission will see a Chinese orbiter soft-land, or land on the moon after using a technique to slow its speed, on a celestial body for the first time," Xinhua added, without providing further details.

Chinese scientists have talked of the possibility of sending a man to the moon after 2020.

China successfully completed its latest manned space mission in June, when three astronauts spent 15 days in orbit and docked with an experimental space laboratory critical in Beijing's quest to build a working space station by 2020.

China is still far from catching up with the established space superpowers, the United States and Russia, which decades ago learned the docking techniques China is only now mastering.

Beijing insists its space program is for peaceful purposes, but the U.S. Defense Department has highlighted China's increasing space capabilities and said Beijing is pursuing a variety of activities aimed at preventing its adversaries from using space-based assets during a crisis.

(Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Ron Popeski)

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China through David Beckham’s eyes

SINGAPORE - David Beckham’s been busy post-retirement – he’s currently on a week-long tour in China as ambassador to the Chinese Super League.

And, oh, he’s also posting selfies on his brand new Sina Weibo account.

The 38-year-old’s posts range from photos of himself looking dapper in a private jet – “Landed in Nanjing, a city I have never been to before. I’ve been told it’s 95 degrees!” – to simple observations about his trip – “Love Beijing, although not his traffic jam. Had a good day so far”.

Beckham also held a question and answer session with followers on Weibo, responding to fan queries about his trip and his favourite sports-related hobbies.

But the former England captain denied reports that he’s been approached by NFL (America’s National Football League) scouts.

“That is not true. In terms of rugby, I think I may be too old now,” he posted in reply to a fan’s question.

Even though the football superstar’s only been microblogging for two days, he already has close to half a million followers.

Beckham’s also following six other Weibo users at the moment, including the Chinese Super League and his wife Victoria Beckham, who has more than 1.3 million followers.

Click on the photos for a glimpse of Beckham’s Weibo posts.

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Will the H7N9 Avian Flu Spread to People Outside Mainland China?

High-risk areas might include Shandong province (where the first case of 104 among humans was reported April 23) and a belt extending around the Bohai sea to Liaoning province in the north. But cases beyond China might be just a matter of time

By Declan Butler and Nature magazine

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CLICK MAP FOR DATA: Flight routes from the outbreak regions would quickly carry any human-transmissible virus to huge population centers in Europe, North America and Asia. Estimated numbers of people residing within two hours' travel time of destination airport calculated using gridded population-density maps and a data set of global travel times. Image: A. J. Tatem, Z. Huang and S. I. Hay (2013). Unpublished data. (A.J.T., University of Southampton, UK; Z.H., University of Florida, Gainesville; S.I.H., University of Oxford, UK.)

Scientists do not yet fully understand how the H7N9 avian influenza virus is spreading in China, or why the pattern of sporadic human cases looks like it does. But mapping the risks of known factors in the past geographical spread of avian flu viruses and human infections might provide some clues.

The first known cases of human infection with H7N9 were reported in China on 31 March, with two cases in Shanghai on the eastern seaboard and one in the neighboring province of Anhui. As of 22 April, the World Health Organization (WHO) has tallied 104 confirmed cases, including 21 deaths, and the virus has expanded its geographical range to neighboring Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces, as well as Beijing in the north and Henan in the center of the country.

On 23 April, China's state news agency, Xinhua, reported a 36-year-old man in serious condition in the city of Zaozhuang, midway between Shanghai and Beijing — the first case from Shandong province (not shown on map). The biggest number of cases has been reported in Shanghai, with 32, and Hangzhou in Zhejiang province, with 27; Huzhou in Zhejiang province has reported 10 cases, as has Nanjing in Jiangsu province.

To stem the current surge of human cases, scientists must identify the sources of the virus, and the route by which it infects humans. Birds at live markets have been suspected as one source, but tens of thousands of tests in poultry and other animals elsewhere have so far failed to turn up significant levels of the virus.

It is far from easy to devise effective ways to sample birds and animals for testing in a country with some 6 billion domestic birds and 0.5 billion pigs — not to mention a vast population of wild birds, including many migratory species. Although the risk factors for the spread of H7N9 are not known, voluminous research on its cousin, the H5N1 virus that has caused 622 confirmed cases and 371 deaths since 2003, may help inform analyses. This, in turn, would help scientists and health officials to target their surveillance and control efforts.

For H5N1, researchers integrate large data sets that combine information on many potentially important factors, such as poultry trade routes, the numbers of birds being transported, the distribution of live-bird markets and their supply routes, waterfowl numbers, land use and human population densities. To these, they add the distribution of H5N1 cases in poultry, and as well as positive H5N1 results from active surveillance in markets.

Marius Gilbert, a co-author of one such study published in PLoS Pathogens in 2011 paper, and an expert in the epidemiology and ecology of avian flu viruses at the Free University of Brussels, says that although the risk factors for H7N9 may be different, given the current dearth of information, H5N1 risk maps are probably a good starting point for identifying areas most at risk.

Indeed, when human cases of H7N9 are overlaid on a risk map that Marius and his co-authors supplied to Nature, they seem to fall within the highest risk areas for H5N1. The map suggests that high-risk areas for H7N9 might include Shandong province (which reported its first case on 23 April) and a belt extending around the Bohai Sea to Liaoning province in the north.

Gilbert was one of more than 30 international experts who gathered at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations in Rome for a two-day meeting last week to discuss the current H7N9 outbreaks. At that meeting, he says, risk modeling and mapping were discussed as one means to devise targeted surveillance. Such information could also be used to help to modify farming and trade practices to reduce the risk of human exposure to the virus. As more is learned about H7N9, such models can be further refined.

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China Gold markets fail to handle Gold plunge

On the other hand, spot market has a timing issue that imposed a hurdle for investors trying to sell quickly to reduce losses.

BEIJING(BullionStreet): Lack of diversity and liquidity in Chinese Gold futures markets were responsible for the sudden panic in country's gold markey during the 'gold plunge', analysts said.

They said during the period which starts from April 10, when a large number of gold holders want to short the metal to hedge against a further price fall, they have a problem finding enough parties willing to take the bet.

As gold trading channels in Chinese market are relatively narrow and the pricing power of country's

gold market is weaker than the more mature markets overseas, domestic gold prices are closely linked to movements in international markets with spot gold prices set during the night, Beijing time, when trading is closed.

When the Chinese market opens the next day, the deluge of sell orders can push prices down at a rate that triggers a suspension in trading.

Analysts added that the gap between trading times in Shanghai, London or New York has been a problem for domestic individual investors as the gold price in the global market dropped off the cliff — Chinese investors not sell off because the domestic trading platform was not in trading hours.

On the other hand, spot market has a timing issue that imposed a hurdle for investors trying to sell quickly to reduce losses.

While the precipitous fall in global prices has touched off a gold rush among Chinese consumers, gold producers and traders are keen to offload their huge stockpiles to minimize real and potential losses.

In doing so, they face a common problem that has become increasingly pressing since the price of the metal began to nosedive on April 10. The problem is the restrictive domestic gold futures market that lacks the liquidity and diversity to absorb a sudden surge in sell orders.

Gold producers and jewelry sellers that are listed in the A-share market said large inventory and price risks may affect their performance this year if the gold price continues to fall, but it is too early to tell what measures should be taken at the current stage.

View the original article here

China sees biggest rush to buy Gold in 50 years

The world's largest gold exchange traded fund SPDR Gold Trust (ticker: GLD) continued to see net outflows Monday, with his holdings ending the day down more than 18 tonnes at 1104.7 tonnes. Since the start of 2013, the volume of gold held to back GLD shares has dropped nearly 20%.

BullionVault
London Gold market report

Gold rallied back above $1420 per ounce Tuesday morning in London, having earlier dipped back towards where they started the week following yesterday's 2% jump amid what one Hong Kong dealer suggested was the biggest rush to buy gold in half a century.

Silver meantime climbed back above $23 an ounce by lunchtime after it too fell in early trading, though unlike gold it was down slightly on the week so far.

European stock markets ticked higher in spite of earlier losses in Asia and disappointing purchasing managers' index data, while commodities fell and US Treasuries gained.

On the currency markets the Euro fell to a two-week low against the Dollar, while Euro gold prices were trading just below €1100 an ounce by lunchtime, the level breached briefly yesterday for the first time since last week's price drop.

The world's largest gold exchange traded fund SPDR Gold Trust (ticker: GLD) continued to see net outflows Monday, with his holdings ending the day down more than 18 tonnes at 1104.7 tonnes. Since the start of 2013, the volume of gold held to back GLD shares has dropped nearly 20%.

In China by contrast, "physical gold dealers and jewelry makers have had to replenish their inventory following robust sales," according to Song Heping, assistant manager at Xiamen City Commercial Bank.

On the Shanghai Gold Exchange, the equivalent of 40.6 tonnes was traded in the benchmark 'four nines' spot contract (for gold of 99.99% purity) Tuesday, down a little from yesterday's record of 43.6 tonnes. By comparison, the previous record, set on February 18 this year immediately after the week-long Lunar New Year holiday, was 22 tonnes.

"Physical markets have responded to the much cheaper gold price levels," says UBS precious metals analyst Joni Teves.

"Our physical flows to Asia have been particularly elevated this week."

"In terms of volume, I haven't seen this gold rush for over 20 years," says Haywood Cheung, president of the Hong Kong Gold & Silver Exchange Society, quoted by the Financial Times.

"Older members who have been in the business for 50 years haven't seen such a thing."

Dealers in Hong Kong Tuesday reported gold bars selling at premiums over the spot price not seen for eighteen months, citing supply constraints for physical bullion.

Growth in China's manufacturing sector meantime has slowed this month, according to the provisional HSBC purchasing managers' index published Tuesday, which also reported falls in new export orders and employment.

Over in Europe, German manufacturing PMI has fallen further below 50, the threshold between conditions seen as improving or getting worse, provisional data published this morning show, while German services PMI fell from 50.9 to 49.2.

For the Eurozone as a whole, manufacturing PMI fell from 46.8 to 46.5, provisional figures show.

Eurozone government debt-to-GDP rose to 90.6% in 2012, up from 87.3% the previous year, figures published Monday show.

The policy of cutting budget deficits being implemented by many European governments, known as austerity, "is fundamentally right [but] has reached its limits in many aspects," Jose Manuel Barroso, president of the European Commission, said yesterday.

"A policy to be successful not only has to be properly designed. It has to have the minimum of political and social support."

In the UK meantime, public sector net borrowing for the fiscal year ended March fell to 120.6 billion pounds, a drop of 0.2% from the previous year. First quarter UK GDP figures are due to be published Thursday.

View the original article here

China Gold markets fail to handle Gold plunge

On the other hand, spot market has a timing issue that imposed a hurdle for investors trying to sell quickly to reduce losses.

BEIJING(BullionStreet): Lack of diversity and liquidity in Chinese Gold futures markets were responsible for the sudden panic in country's gold markey during the 'gold plunge', analysts said.

They said during the period which starts from April 10, when a large number of gold holders want to short the metal to hedge against a further price fall, they have a problem finding enough parties willing to take the bet.

As gold trading channels in Chinese market are relatively narrow and the pricing power of country's

gold market is weaker than the more mature markets overseas, domestic gold prices are closely linked to movements in international markets with spot gold prices set during the night, Beijing time, when trading is closed.

When the Chinese market opens the next day, the deluge of sell orders can push prices down at a rate that triggers a suspension in trading.

Analysts added that the gap between trading times in Shanghai, London or New York has been a problem for domestic individual investors as the gold price in the global market dropped off the cliff — Chinese investors not sell off because the domestic trading platform was not in trading hours.

On the other hand, spot market has a timing issue that imposed a hurdle for investors trying to sell quickly to reduce losses.

While the precipitous fall in global prices has touched off a gold rush among Chinese consumers, gold producers and traders are keen to offload their huge stockpiles to minimize real and potential losses.

In doing so, they face a common problem that has become increasingly pressing since the price of the metal began to nosedive on April 10. The problem is the restrictive domestic gold futures market that lacks the liquidity and diversity to absorb a sudden surge in sell orders.

Gold producers and jewelry sellers that are listed in the A-share market said large inventory and price risks may affect their performance this year if the gold price continues to fall, but it is too early to tell what measures should be taken at the current stage.

View the original article here

China sees biggest rush to buy Gold in 50 years

The world's largest gold exchange traded fund SPDR Gold Trust (ticker: GLD) continued to see net outflows Monday, with his holdings ending the day down more than 18 tonnes at 1104.7 tonnes. Since the start of 2013, the volume of gold held to back GLD shares has dropped nearly 20%.

BullionVault
London Gold market report

Gold rallied back above $1420 per ounce Tuesday morning in London, having earlier dipped back towards where they started the week following yesterday's 2% jump amid what one Hong Kong dealer suggested was the biggest rush to buy gold in half a century.

Silver meantime climbed back above $23 an ounce by lunchtime after it too fell in early trading, though unlike gold it was down slightly on the week so far.

European stock markets ticked higher in spite of earlier losses in Asia and disappointing purchasing managers' index data, while commodities fell and US Treasuries gained.

On the currency markets the Euro fell to a two-week low against the Dollar, while Euro gold prices were trading just below €1100 an ounce by lunchtime, the level breached briefly yesterday for the first time since last week's price drop.

The world's largest gold exchange traded fund SPDR Gold Trust (ticker: GLD) continued to see net outflows Monday, with his holdings ending the day down more than 18 tonnes at 1104.7 tonnes. Since the start of 2013, the volume of gold held to back GLD shares has dropped nearly 20%.

In China by contrast, "physical gold dealers and jewelry makers have had to replenish their inventory following robust sales," according to Song Heping, assistant manager at Xiamen City Commercial Bank.

On the Shanghai Gold Exchange, the equivalent of 40.6 tonnes was traded in the benchmark 'four nines' spot contract (for gold of 99.99% purity) Tuesday, down a little from yesterday's record of 43.6 tonnes. By comparison, the previous record, set on February 18 this year immediately after the week-long Lunar New Year holiday, was 22 tonnes.

"Physical markets have responded to the much cheaper gold price levels," says UBS precious metals analyst Joni Teves.

"Our physical flows to Asia have been particularly elevated this week."

"In terms of volume, I haven't seen this gold rush for over 20 years," says Haywood Cheung, president of the Hong Kong Gold & Silver Exchange Society, quoted by the Financial Times.

"Older members who have been in the business for 50 years haven't seen such a thing."

Dealers in Hong Kong Tuesday reported gold bars selling at premiums over the spot price not seen for eighteen months, citing supply constraints for physical bullion.

Growth in China's manufacturing sector meantime has slowed this month, according to the provisional HSBC purchasing managers' index published Tuesday, which also reported falls in new export orders and employment.

Over in Europe, German manufacturing PMI has fallen further below 50, the threshold between conditions seen as improving or getting worse, provisional data published this morning show, while German services PMI fell from 50.9 to 49.2.

For the Eurozone as a whole, manufacturing PMI fell from 46.8 to 46.5, provisional figures show.

Eurozone government debt-to-GDP rose to 90.6% in 2012, up from 87.3% the previous year, figures published Monday show.

The policy of cutting budget deficits being implemented by many European governments, known as austerity, "is fundamentally right [but] has reached its limits in many aspects," Jose Manuel Barroso, president of the European Commission, said yesterday.

"A policy to be successful not only has to be properly designed. It has to have the minimum of political and social support."

In the UK meantime, public sector net borrowing for the fiscal year ended March fell to 120.6 billion pounds, a drop of 0.2% from the previous year. First quarter UK GDP figures are due to be published Thursday.

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