Just the facts: TIE's executive news service.

• Author: Rees, Matthew

China

* Inflation

"So what immediate threats does China face? The biggest worry is that the economy is overheating and inflation surging out of control. In August consumer price inflation jumped to 6.5 percent, up from 1.3 percent a year earlier and its highest for more than a decade."

--The Economist, September 28

* Stock Market Bigger Than Japan

"The Chinese stock market is now bigger in terms of market value than the Japanese market if Chinese companies listed in Hong Kong are taken into account."

--Financial Times, August 29

* Security Concerns About Foreign Investment

"Mergers and acquisitions accounted for only 5 percent of foreign direct investment in China before 2004, but rose to 11 percent in 2004 and almost 20 percent in 2005."

--New York Times, August 28

* Skyscrapers

"Shanghai had fifteen skyscrapers in 1978; by last year it had about 3,800, more than Los Angeles and Chicago combined."

--Matthew Rees, Wall Street Journal, July 18

* GDP Poised to Pass Germany

"Chinese statistics due this week are likely to show that the country is on track to leapfrog Germany as the third-biggest national economy this year, sooner than expected."

"As recently as 1999, China was only the world's seventh-biggest economy. It has since leapt past Italy, France, and the United Kingdom. If it manages to maintain its current rate of growth, it could surpass Japan in around a decade."

--Wall Street Journal, July 16

Japan

* Sleeping Savings

"Only 3.6 percent of Japan's $13 trillion in personal savings is invested abroad, while more than half is held in cash and domestic bank deposits. [By contrast, U.S. households keep less than 13 percent of their savings in cash and deposits.]"

--Wall Street Journal, July 30

U.S. Stock Market

* Foreign Firms Delisting

"Already this year, thirty-four foreign companies have delisted from the New York Stock Exchange, and nine more have announced they plan to do so, says the exchange."

--USA Today, September 24

Hedge Funds

* Wealth Accumulation

"The top twenty-five hedge fund managers earned more than the chief executives of all the companies in the Standard & Poor's 500 combined."

--The Economist, September 14

* Bond Trading

"Hedge funds are responsible for nearly 30 percent of all U.S. fixed-income trading."

--Wall Street Journal, August 30

* Emerging Market Bond Worries

"Some 45 percent of trading volume in emerging-market domestic bonds is carried out by hedge funds."

--Wall Street Journal, July 19

Bear Markets

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