1.
Top China
Leader Faces Trial
Once-Powerful
Bo Xilai Faces Broad Criminal Accusations; Expelled From Party
The Wall Street Journal September 28, 2012
The
Chinese Communist Party expelled former high-flying official Bo Xilai,
according to state-run media on Friday. Jeremy Page has details on The News
Hub. Photo: Bloomberg.
BEIJING—China's
leadership expelled former highflying official Bo Xilai from the Communist
Party and launched criminal proceedings against him, citing a litany of
wrongdoing over 30 years, including taking huge bribes, abusing his power
during a murder investigation against his wife and engaging in improper sexual
relations with several women.
The
moves suggest China's leadership is trying to send a strong message to the
public that it will tackle the issues at the heart of the Bo
scandal—corruption, abuse of power, and the decadent lives led by some members
of the party elite. That represents an acknowledgment that growing public anger
over those issues constitutes a grave threat to the party's future grip on
power.
Machine,
Not Man, in Chinese Politics
The
decision by the party's Politburo, announced by the state-run Xinhua news
agency, came as the world's second largest economy wrestles with a host of
knotty problems—an economic slowdown, a sovereignty fight with Japan over some
islands, and a pending once-a-decade leadership shuffle that the Bo scandal had
thrown into turmoil.
There
is also the issue of lingering support among the public for Mr. Bo and the
populist style of government he pursued as party leader in Chongqing. There, he
presided over a Maoist revival movement and heavy state spending on
infrastructure and social programs. By accusing Mr. Bo of extensive wrongdoing,
over his entire career, the party appears to be determined to crush that
support.
2.
‘Investment
is a key priority for Russian economic growth’
2
October, 2012
Focusing
on investment rather than on borrowing or boosting oil revenues would be key in
securing economic growth during the global crisis, according to Russia’s President
and the country’s top economist.
“In case of significant environmental changes in 2013 we
already provide anti-crisis measures,” Russian
President Vladimir Putin said during his speech during the VTB capital
Investment Forum “Russia Calling!”
“However, we believe that encouraging economic growth,
business activity, trade and investments is a pledge to further
stability,” Putin said, stressing that Russia’s accession
to the World Trading Organization would help it to attract investment. “We
suppose that this step would positively affect investor sentiment and clear the
way to prospective projects”.
Russian
authorities have pledged to attract foreign investors, and boost the Russian
Direct Investment Fund, which was created last year. Putin said the government
should provide about 62 billion roubles ($2 billion) to the Fund this
year. "Last year we invested 62 billion, this year we will again,
and we will study this possibility for next year, » Putin said. He
acknowledged that this money is not in the 2013 budget yet, but it "absolutely
has to be done."
The
diversification of economy is another top priority for Russian government in
fighting the global crisis. “Dependency on the oil prices should
decrease,” Putin pledged. “Our target is to cut non oil budget
deficit from 8.5 % in 2012 to 5.5% in 2015%”.
However,
Russian politicians haven’t ruled out raising capital for the budget and for
companies through borrowing on the international markets. Anton Siluanov,
Russian Finance Minister, says that in the wake of the global turmoil,
reliability and safety comes as a priority in Russia’s financial strategy.
“Currently we are investing into highly reliable but low
return assets. We borrow at 4-5% in international markets and place at 1-2%,” where
the difference comes as a risk premium, Siluanov said. “Logics here is
that we hedge risks this way. If a crisis strikes, if the oil prices falls
sharply, the cost of lending will go up to 7-8%. So it’s better to borrow
now,” he explained.
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