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☆ MSA Capital's Ben Harburg previews China's NPC Conference
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailMSA Capital's Ben Harburg previews China's NPC ConferenceBen Harburg, MSA Capital, joins 'Closing Bell: Overtime' to discuss China markets and preview the China NPC Conference.

☆ At China political meeting, internet bosses are out, chip execs are in
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | by ( Laurie Chen | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

HARDWARE FOCUSNewcomers to the events include representatives from chip firms Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC), state-backed Hua Hong Semiconductor Ltd, Shandong Youyan Semiconductor Materials Co. in the NPC and Cambricon Techologies Corp in the CPPCC. Other new NPC delegates come from robotics, laser, aerospace and aeronautics firms. Delegates for the NPC and CPPCC are chosen every five years by the Communist Party and have the option to resign. Some celebrity CPPCC delegates did not reappear on this year's list, such as Hong Kong action star Jackie Chan, film director Feng Xiaogang and state television anchor Bai Yansong. Yao Ming, a retired basketball star who heads the Chinese Basketball Association, has moved from the CPPCC to the NPC.

☆ Factbox: What to look for as China kicks off its annual session of parliament
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( Laurie Chen | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Besides meeting annually to deliberate legislation and appoint government personnel, it oversees the State Council, China's cabinet. Its top body, the roughly 170-member NPC Standing Committee, meets more frequently to pass legislation. The Standing Committee also has the power to amend semiautonomous Hong Kong's mini-constitution, known as the Basic Law. The NPC will also appoint top government positions including vice president, NPC chair, vice premiers, state councillors, head of the Supreme Court and ministers. China will announce its central and local government budgets, military spending budget and economic growth target on the opening day of the NPC.

☆ Free education, equal rights for unmarried women among proposals to boost China's fertility
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( Farah Master | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Tingshu WangHONG KONG, March 2 (Reuters) - Free college education and equal rights for unmarried women are among proposals being urged by members of China’s top political advisory body to boost the country's birth rate after its population fell last year for the first time in six decades. The proposals come ahead of the upcoming Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), which kicks off on March 4. China should remove restrictions on marital status used to register newborns, allowing unmarried women to enjoy fertility services like married women do, Xie Wenmin, a member of China's top political advisory body, told the state-backed Global Times this week. Even after authorities scrapped the rule, high childcare and education costs are cited as a key reason for having fewer children. Currently IVF and egg freezing in China are banned for unmarried women.

[1/4] A worker walks across a construction site in the Central Business District, ahead of the opening of the National People's Congress (NPC) in Beijing, China, February 28, 2023. Nearly 3,000 delegates will gather in the Great Hall of the People west of Tiananmen Square for the first National People's Congress (NPC) of the post-zero-COVID era, although some precautions remain including testing and quarantine for journalists. It will also discuss Xi's plans for an "intensive" and "wide-ranging" re-organisation of state and Communist Party entities, state media reported on Tuesday, after a three-day meeting of the party's central committee. China's economy grew just 3% last year, one of its worst showings in nearly half a century. "We will strive to spur growth and have policy tools to do that, mainly by channelling money into big projects," Xu Hongcai, deputy director of the economic policy commission at the state-backed China Association of Policy Science, told Reuters.

☆ Xi's planned revival of Chinese financial watchdog exerts more party control
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Joe Cash | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

BEIJING, March 1 (Reuters) - Plans by China's Communist Party to revive a high-level economic watchdog after two decades signal President Xi Jinping push to increase oversight of the financial sector, analysts say, part of a wider tightening of control by Xi and the party. "Through the CFWC, Xi and his allies could more rapidly roll out a reshuffle to replace the remaining legacy technocrats with people more loyal to them," he said. China's financial sector is overseen by the People's Bank of China (PBOC), the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission, the China Securities Regulatory Commission, with the cabinet's Financial Stability and Development Committee at the top. Under the new proposed structure, the party would take on a direction-setting role for the economy and regulatory bodies. "But this could also lead to policies replacing some market forces, which may not be ideal for financial liberalisation", she said.

☆ China says its economic recovery is still not solid - state media
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BEIJING, Feb 28 (Reuters) - China said on Tuesday the foundation of its economic recovery is not yet solid, and various unexpected factors may occur at any time, state media reported. The communique was released at the second plenary session of CPC's central committee, which was held from Feb. 26 to Feb. 28. More than 200 members of central committee discussed a draft of reforms to party and state organisations which will be examined at the upcoming 14th National People’s Congress (NPC). The central committee also approved a proposed list of leadership candidates to be recommended at the first session of the upcoming Congress. The 14th NPC, an annual meeting of parliament where thousands of delegates from across China will gather in the capital, Beijing, kicks off on Sunday.

☆ Hedge funds unimpressed by Chinese internet giants' peppy earnings
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Summer Zhen | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

HONG KONG, Feb 28 (Reuters) - A set of bumper earnings reports from the likes of Baidu Inc and other Chinese internet giants isn't impressing hedge funds and other investors who have cut exposure to the stocks and seem to be waiting for more good news. Despite easily beating expectations for their earnings and giving optimistic forecasts for the recovery in demand, shares in both companies fell. Mark Dong, co-founder of Minority Asset Management, who is based in Hong Kong, says expectations for Chinese growth are clouded by doubts over how Beijing plans to stimulate the economy and deal with external risks. The internet sector index (.H11137) nearly doubled between late-October and January but has since fallen 20%. Global hedge funds such as Bridgewater Associates, Tiger Asset Management and Coatue Management are big holders of China internet stocks, which makes the sector more vulnerable to the global economic cycle and geopolitical tensions.

☆ Fact Check-Quote about daylight savings time is misattributed to Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-10 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

A quote about Daylight Savings Time and climate change has been falsely attributed to U.S. House Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. The quote reads, “If we change our times with the sole intent of increasing the amount of daylight we receive, that’s an extra hour of sun shine. We need to repeal Daylight Savings Time as a primary measure to decrease the rate of climate change. Lauren Hitt, a spokesperson for Ocasio-Cortez, told Reuters via email that “she did not say that or anything like it.”VERDICTFalse. There is no evidence that U.S. House Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said this quote about Daylight Savings Time and climate change.

"More fundamental, and more subtle and more important is the social contract and social trust in China. COVID CZAROver the past three years, Vice Premier Sun, 72, has been the face of China's COVID fight, a mother-like figure who has executed Xi's zero-COVID policy with a firm hand. In April this year, Sun rushed to Shanghai as the city went under lockdown, according to state media reports. During the Shanghai lockdown, while also on an inspection tour, Sun was bombarded by pleas from residents shouting from their windows: "No more rice! How the current infections are tackled remain a key near-term challenge to COVID czars.

A view of damaged electrical wires after Ukrainian army retaken control from the Russian forces in Lyman, Ukraine on November 27. (Metin Aktas/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images/FILE)Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said that the second winter season of the war "will be very challenging." Shmyhal said that "all regions of Ukraine, except Kherson region, are supplied with power. Shmyhal said the situation required a strong air defense and quick repairs of damaged power equipment. Obtaining additional power equipment was also a priority, he said.

☆ In photos: Oscars red carpet style
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-26 | by ( Dave Lucas | ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

Nearly 3,000 members of the National People's Congress (NPC) voted unanimously in the Great Hall of the People for the 69-year-old Xi in an election in which there was no other candidate.

☆ IPC suspends Russian, Belarusian committees with immediate effect
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Russia's suspension was passed by 64 votes to 39, with 16 abstentions, at the IPC's extraordinary General Assembly in Berlin on Wednesday. "Due to their suspension, NPC Russia and NPC Belarus lose all rights and privileges of IPC membership, in accordance with the IPC Constitution," the IPC said in a statement. "Both NPC Russia and NPC Belarus now have the right to appeal the decision. The next IPC General Assembly is due to take place in the final quarter of 2023 at a venue yet to be confirmed." The Russian Paralympic Committee called the IPC decision unfounded.

The baby fox they spawn will automatically be tamed, but will follow its parents until you lead it away. Here's how to tame foxes in "Minecraft," whether playing in Survival mode or Creative mode. How to tame a fox in 'Minecraft'To tame a fox, you'll need to make two wild foxes have a child. Get the baby fox to stop following its parentsWhile the new baby fox might fall far from the tree in terms of attitude, if you leave it be, it'll always stay with its parents. To keep track of your new tame foxes, it's also a good idea to give the tame ones Name Tags.

☆ China passes new women's protection law, revamped for first time in decades
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The legislation comes as activists have expressed concern about increasing government rhetoric on the value of traditional women's roles, and what some see as setbacks for women's rights and more restrictive attitudes towards abortion. It's not yet clear to what extent those more conservative attitudes will be reflected in the new law. It is the first time in nearly 30 years that the law on women's protection was changed. Titled "Women's Rights and Interests Protection Law", the bill was submitted to the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC) on Thursday. Tens of thousands of people had sent in suggestions for what wanted to see in the legislation, the NPC said on its website.

☆ Apple CEO Tim Cook got roasted for his lackluster, bored-looking checkered flag waving at Formula One's US Grand Prix
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-24 | by ( Pete Syme | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Tim Cook got the honor of waving the checkered flag at Formula One's United States Grand Prix Sunday. People across the world of F1 were quick to roast for his apparent lack of enthusiasm however. "Possibly the worst checkered flag-waving in Formula One history," one prominent commentator said. Cook became the latest in a long line of well-known figures to signal the end of an F1 race by waving the checkered flag, joining the likes of David Beckham and Serena Williams. Sky Sports commentator Ted Kravitz also chimed in, calling it "possibly the worst checkered flag-waving in Formula One history."

☆ Macro bets help hedge funds ride rough Chinese markets
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-10 | by ( Summer Zhen | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

HONG KONG, Oct 11 (Reuters) - The hedge funds that have managed to weather and outperform China's bumpy stock markets so far this year say betting on big-picture macroeconomic changes have helped them. One such fund is Stanley Tao's $230 million Golden Nest Greater China Fund. The hedge fund posted approximately a 2.4% net return for September, according to internal estimates, and is down 1.2% for the first nine months. That compares with MSCI China's (.dMICN00000PUS) roughly 30% decline in the nine months to September, marking the worst first nine months since 2008. Macro strategies are the biggest winners this year, with hedge funds cashing in on the volatility spawned by the differing pace of global rate rises and regulatory changes -- seizing opportunities that didn't exist during a decade of uniform easy monetary policies everywhere.

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