Prepared by The Trader, thetrader.se
FT.com
Planned global regulatory overhauls for the insurance and banking industries threaten to make insurers riskier and exacerbate the constrained availability of lending to the economy, a body representing the world’s biggest financial groups has warned http://ftalphaville.ft.com/thecut/2011/08/18/656231/iif-calls-for-shift-in-direction-of-disjointed-reform/
The outlook for Britain’s economy darkened on Wednesday as new data showed a much weaker than expected labour market and the Bank of England’s monetary policy committee signalled increasing concern about the recovery, http://ftalphaville.ft.com/thecut/2011/08/18/656216/the-uk-labour-market-isn%e2%80%99t-working/
Traders shrugged off new measures by the Swiss authorities to stem demand for their currency, sending the Swiss franc sharply higher on Wednesday, the FT reports. The Swiss franc jumped 2 per cent against both the euro and the dollar in a matter of minutes http://ftalphaville.ft.com/thecut/2011/08/18/656191/move-to-curb-swiss-franc%e2%80%99s-rise-backfires-2/
Financial markets and fellow European leaders reacted coolly on Wednesday to proposals by the French and German leaders for more economic co-ordination between eurozone capitals, with several countries reiterating long-held reservations towards ceding control of tax and economic policies. Many of the ideas proposed by Nicolas Sarkozy, the French president, and Angela Merkel, German chancellor – including a Europe-wide financial transaction tax and harmonisation of eurozone corporate tax rates – have been previously debated in Brussels with no consensus, and there was little sign of movement following the Paris summit. http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/54e7a8ae-c8ee-11e0-aed8-00144feabdc0.html#axzz1VLysjuMj
Mikhail Gorbachev, the former Soviet leader, has called for a change of Russia’s leadership and criticised the ruling monopoly of the United Russia party as a “worse version of the Soviet Communist party”. In a press conference devoted to the 20th anniversary of the attempted coup by hardliners in August 1991, he both sought to defend his historical legacy, but also scold his successors in the Kremlin. http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/174a8322-c8e9-11e0-aed8-00144feabdc0.html#axzz1VLysjuMj
The European Central Bank has lent dollars to a eurozone bank for the first time since February in the latest sign of escalating tensions in the region’s financial system. A single bidder borrowed $500m for a week, the ECB disclosed on Wednesday, after taking advantage of a facility that has largely lain dormant over the past year. No details were given but the news suggested that at least one bank was having difficulties obtaining the dollar funds it required. http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/916c2e2c-c8e3-11e0-aed8-00144feabdc0.html#axzz1VLysjuMj
WSJ.com
Asian markets were mostly lower on Thursday, as investors remained jittery, although beer-industry takeover activity boosted Sydney-listed Foster’s Group and Japan’s Asahi Group. “Why do I get the feeling we are in the ‘eye of the market hurricane’ and more volatility is imminent,” says Bell Potter managing director Charlie Aitken. Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average shed 0.6%, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.5%, South Korea’s Kospi Composite lost 1.0% and New Zealand’s NZX-50 edged down 0.1%. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were down 62 points in screen trade. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111903596904576515160549758434.html?mod=WSJ_hp_LEFTWhatsNewsCollection
Federal and state regulators, signaling their growing worry that Europe’s debt crisis could spill into the U.S. banking system, are intensifying their scrutiny of the U.S. arms of Europe’s biggest banks, according to people familiar with the matter. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York, which oversees the U.S. operations of many large European banks, recently has been holding extensive meetings with the lenders to gauge their vulnerability to escalating financial pressures. The Fed is demanding more information from the banks about whether they have reliable access to the funds needed to operate on a day-to-day basis in the U.S. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111904070604576514431203667092.html?mod=WSJ_hp_LEFTTopStories
To city officials in Manassas Park, Va., Standard & Poor’s one-notch downgrade of the U.S. government’s credit rating was relatively mild compared with what the firm sprung on them last month. The tiny city’s credit rating was reduced to triple-B from double-A minus—a five-notch tumble. “For us to have been downgraded with the problems of the economy, we were expecting that,” says Gary Fields, Manassas Park’s finance director. “But maybe a notch. Maybe two notches. We were quite surprised at the size of the downgrade. I don’t really understand.” http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111904070604576514710836958684.html?mod=WSJ_hp_LEFTWhatsNewsCollection
Exxon Mobil Corp. is fighting with the U.S. government to keep control of one of its biggest oil discoveries ever, in a showdown where billions of dollars hang in the balance for both sides. The massive Gulf of Mexico discovery contains an estimated one billion barrels of recoverable oil, the company says. The Interior Department, which regulates offshore drilling, says Exxon’s leases have expired and the company hasn’t met the requirements for an extension. Exxon has sued to retain the leases. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111903596904576514762275032794.html?mod=WSJ_hp_LEFTWhatsNewsCollection
The world of oil investors reached far beyond Wall Street in recent years as foreign pension funds, corporate icons and even an Ivy League endowment placed big wagers on oil prices, according to a list compiled by U.S. regulators. The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission list shows that just before crude prices reached record highs in 2008, investments tied to millions of barrels of oil were held by a diverse group of at least 219 investors. The CFTC never identified specific investors publicly, but The Wall Street Journal recently reviewed the list. It offers a rare glimpse of the secretive http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111904070604576514761171756944.html?mod=WSJ_hp_LEFTWhatsNewsCollection
President Hugo Chávez said Wednesday he planned to take over Venezuela’s largely underdeveloped gold mining industry in an attempt to boost international reserves. The populist leader has already nationalized banks, telecommunications, oil fields, the power sector, and hundreds of thousands of acres of farmland, making Wednesday’s move unsurprising. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111903596904576514453383064500.html?mod=WSJ_hp_LEFTWhatsNewsCollection
China made its debut this week at the world’s largest robotics trade show when a Shenzhen-based firm showcased its F50, a small drone with a high-definition video camera that a company brochure billed as a tool for monitoring protests, or responding to building fires. The appearance of AEE Technology Co.’s relatively small, short-range drone—about the size of a pizza pan—in the drone market underscores the burgeoning international competition in the market for unmanned aerial vehicles and military robots. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111904070604576514782800973542.html?mod=WSJAsia_hpp_LEFTTopStories
Japan posted a ¥72.5 billion ($946 million) trade surplus in July, a middling result that marks the second straight month of surplus and to a certain extent bodes well for an export-led economy continuing to recover from the March 11 disaster. The data released Thursday came in slightly better than a ¥70.1 billion surplus expected by economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires and the Nikkei. In June, the trade balance was a ¥68.6 billion surplus. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111903596904576515351579478530.html?mod=WSJASIA_hpp_LEFTTopWhatNews
Prices of newly built homes in 39 of 70 large and medium-sized Chinese cities covered in a government survey rose in July from the previous month, down from 44 cities in June, indicating that the central government’s tightening efforts are continuing to show modest results. Prices of newly built homes in 68 of the 70 cities covered by the government survey rose in July from a year earlier, higher than the 67 recorded in the four months from March to June and unchanged from the 68 recorded in both January and February, the National Bureau of Statistics said in a statement on Thursday. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111903596904576515314278100504.html?mod=WSJASIA_hpp_LEFTTopWhatNews
The annual rate of inflation in the 17 countries that share the euro fell in July as retailers slashed prices of summer clothing, although it remained above the European Central Bank’s target. The European Union’s official statistics agency Eurostat said Wednesday consumer prices fell by 0.6% from June, but were up 2.5% from July 2010. That was in line with expectations, and Eurostat’s preliminary estimate of the annual rate of inflation, which was lower than the 2.7% rate recorded in June. Consumer prices typically fall in July as retailers attempt to clear their summer stocks by discounting heavily. Evidence of that behavior was clear in the Eurostat figures, which showed that clothing prices fell by 14.2% from June. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111903639404576513670535803708.html?mod=WSJEUROPE_hpp_LEFTTopWhatNews
MarketWatch.com
China will likely not hike benchmark interest rates again this year as it shifts its focus to fiscal and structural reforms to improve economic performance, a think tank researcher said Thursday. Wang Tianlong, a researcher at the China Center for International Economic Exchanges, a think tank supervised by the country’s economic planner, said the room for raising banks’ reserve ratios further was also limited. http://www.marketwatch.com/story/china-researcher-more-2011-rate-hikes-unlikely-2011-08-17
Reuters.com
Gold edged higher on Thursday on persistent worries about euro zone debt woes and slower global growth, defying a rebound in the dollar. The dollar index .DXY rose 0.3 percent, after dropping to a three-week low in the previous session. Spot gold gained 0.2 percent to $1,791.50 an ounce by 0325 GMT, after three days of rises. It was only 1.2 percent below its all-time high of $1,813.79 struck last week. U.S. gold was flat at $1,794.70 an ounce. http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/08/18/us-markets-precious-idUSTRE7781Q420110818
Approval of President Barack Obama’s handling of the U.S. economy has fallen to a new low of 26 percent, according to a Gallup poll released on Wednesday in the aftermath of a bruising fight with Congress over federal spending. Seventy-one percent of Americans said they disapproved of Obama’s handling of the economy, up 11 percentage points from mid-May, when Gallup last questioned people about the issue. Approval of his handling of the economy fell by 11 percentage points from 37 percent in mid-May. http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/08/17/us-obama-economy-poll-idUSTRE77G6LF20110817
Bloomberg.com
Oil dropped from a two-day high in New York as investors bet fuel demand will falter amid signs of weaker growth in the U.S. and Europe. Futures declined as much as 0.6 percent today before reports that may show U.S. jobless claims increased last week and manufacturing in the Philadelphia region slowed this month. Crude supplies rose 4.23 million barrels, an Energy Department report showed. They were forecast to drop 500,000 barrels. Asian equities fell after two Federal Reserve officials opposed a pledge to keep U.S. interest rates at record lows. Crude for September delivery slipped as much as 56 cents to $87.02 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange, and was at $87.30 at 1:58 p.m. Sydney time. The contract yesterday gained 93 cents to $87.58, the highest since Aug. 15. Prices are 16 percent higher the past year. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-08-17/oil-declines-in-new-york-u-s-crude-inventories-show-unexpected-increase.html
Fitch Ratings lowered the credit rating on New Jersey’s general-obligation bonds by one step to AA-, the fourth-highest grade, on what it called “mounting budgetary pressure” from pension and employee-benefit deficits. A bill putting more of the pension and health-care burden on employees, signed by Governor Chris Christie in June, won’t prevent the need for increased state contributions, Fitch said yesterday in a report. Other negatives were a weak economic recovery, persistent deficits and high debt, the company said. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-08-17/new-jersey-rating-is-cut-to-aa-by-fitch-on-mounting-budgetary-pressure-.html
Chinese securities firms are making inroads in international investment banking markets, driving up hiring costs and spurring tighter competition for deals, a senior Barclays Plc (BARC) executive said. “They’re very real competition; they absolutely win deals and in many cases, they win deals that we would love to be in,” said Matthew Ginsburg, Hong Kong-based head of investment banking at Barclays in Asia, in an Aug. 16 interview. “On the cost side, are they starting to be competitive for talent? In many cases, they are absolutely.” http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-08-18/barclays-sees-very-real-competition-from-chinese-underwriters.html
Container lines may miss their peak- season targets on Asia-U.S. routes as orders for backpacks, sneakers and flatscreen TVs fall below expectations and ships sail below-capacity. Christmas shipping may be the same. The build-up to the holiday and back-to-school shopping seasons, the busiest periods for U.S. retailers, usually allows A.P. Moeller-Maersk A/S, Neptune Orient Lines Ltd.’s APL Ltd. unit and other container lines to introduce surcharges around mid-June. This year, levies were delayed to this week because of excess capacity. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-08-18/price-war-may-curtail-maersk-apl-holiday-shipping-rates-freight-markets.html
Morgan Stanley cut its forecast for global growth this year, citing an “insufficient” response to Europe’s sovereign debt crisis, weakened confidence and the prospect of fiscal tightening. The bank estimates expansion of 3.9 percent, down from a previous forecast of 4.2 percent, according to an e-mailed report dated today. A prediction of 3.8 percent for next year is down from 4.5 percent previously. The threat to the global economy from the debt burdens of developed nations have roiled world markets this month and wiped trillions of dollars off the value of equities. At the same time, slowing expansions in nations including Germany, the key driver of European growth, are hurting confidence. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-08-18/morgan-stanley-lowers-global-growth-forecast.html
CNBC.com
The Federal Reserve’s recent promise to keep rates low for another two years was “inappropriate policy at an inappropriate time,” while its statement on the economy was excessively negative, a top Fed policymaker said Wednesday. Philadelphia Federal Reserve President Charles Plosser said he dissented from the Fed’s statement because policy should be determined by what the economy is doing rather than by a fixed timeline. http://www.cnbc.com/id/44174122
The weakness of the American consumer is having repercussions in China, which may stop buying more U.S. Treasurys as it focuses on internal consumption rather than exports, Stephen Roach, the non-executive chairman of Morgan Stanley Asia, told CNBC Wednesday. That could result in “higher interest rates and/or a weaker dollar, and we’re not going to be able to fund ourselves on the terms we have been funding ourselves externally,” he said. Annualized growth in spending by the world’s biggest consumer between the first quarter of 2008 to the second quarter of 2011 was only 0.2 percent, he said. http://www.cnbc.com/id/44176891
NYTimes.com
During previous bouts of financial volatility, Russia could be reliably found on the edge of the violent extremes. In 2008, for example, the Russian stock market was the worst performing of any major stock exchange in the world. The ruble collapsed. And the rich industrialists known as the oligarchs suffered $230 billion in paper losses. This time is different. While the Russian economy is still vulnerable to the vicissitudes of global capital and commodity moves, it is in a far better position to weather the effects of a fresh recession in Europe or the United States. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/18/business/global/this-time-russia-is-prepared-for-a-global-downturn.html?_r=1&ref=global
FoxBusiness.com
The Federal Reserve will do what it feels is best for the economy, regardless of any political heat, a top Fed official said on Wednesday. “We are going to do what’s right,” Dallas Federal Reserve Bank President Richard Fisher told reporters after a speech in Midland, Texas. “We are indifferent to political criticism.” He made the remarks after Texas Governor and Republican presidential candidate Rick Perry created a stir on Monday when he said he would consider it “treasonous” if Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke “prints more money between now and the election” in November 2012. http://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/2011/08/17/fed-is-indifferent-to-political-jabs-fisher/#ixzz1VM3CMOOL
BBC.co.uk
The number of people unemployed in the UK rose by 38,000 to 2.49 million in the three months to June. This took the jobless rate from 7.7% to 7.9%, the Office for National Statistics said. The number of people claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance also rose, by 37,100 in July to 1.56 million, its biggest increase since May 2009. The claimant count has now risen for five months in a row to its highest level since February 2010. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-14555264
All nine of the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voted to keep interest rates on hold at its August meeting, minutes have shown. Two members who had regularly voted for an increase to ward off rising inflation ditched their stance in the face of a weaker economic environment. The vote means interest rates are likely to stay at the current record low of 0.5% for the foreseeable future. The Bank of England has held rates there since March 2009. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-14556469
Telegraph.co.uk
President Barack Obama intends to ask Congress to back a fresh stimulus plan for the economy in a plan that will create a new storm of controversy in Washington. The White House could seek billions of dollars in new spending through a mix of measures designed to reignite the faltering recovery. “There are some immediate things we can do around infrastructure, tax policy that would make a difference in terms of people hiring right now,” President Obama said in a television interview. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financialcrisis/8707631/Obama-proposes-further-stimulus-to-spur-economy.html
The Bank of England is more pessimistic now about the prospects for the UK economy than it was when the country was in recession. Tables published today show that the Bank believes there is at least a one-in-10 chance the UK will suffer a double dip over the next 18 months. Its current forecast is more bleak than any projection since February last year, as Britain was coming out of the deepest slump since the 1930s, and even worse than its outlook in May 2008, when the recession had just started. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/banksandfinance/8707393/Bank-of-England-more-worried-about-recession-than-in-downturn.htm
Smh.com.au
Rattled investors pulled more than $US40 billion ($38.29 billion) from mutual funds in a single week this month as fears about the global economy intensified. The total of $US40.3 billion ($38.58 billion) was the biggest amount removed from mutual funds in a week in nearly three years, the Investment Company Institute said Wednesday. Stock fund outflows alone were a net $US30 billion ($28.72 billion) for the week ended Aug. 10.That was more than the total for the previous three weeks combined as investor concerns snowballed. http://www.smh.com.au/business/world-business/us-fund-investors-yank-us40b-in-a-week-20110818-1iyv1.html#ixzz1VM5U5By5
TheGlobeAndMail.com
Canada’s labour force is becoming much older, more diverse and will grow much more slowly than in the past as the economy absorbs a wave of baby boomers entering retirement. Statistics Canada released new data Wednesday showing the retiring baby boom generation will affect labour force growth through to 2026, when the last of the boomers retires. The Globe and Mail reported last week that federal policy makers are currently reviewing a range of policy options – including incentives to boost fertility or encourage Canadians to work longer – as the first wave of baby boomers starts retiring this year. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/economy/jobs/canadas-shrinking-aging-work-force-poses-economic-problems-statscan/article2133110/
StraitsTimes.com
The Hong Kong stock exchange said on Thursday it is in talks with bourses on mainland China to set up a joint venture in the city, in the latest step to boost economic integration. HKEx, the world’s most valuable exchange operator, said in a statement that it has agreed to enter into ‘detailed discussions’ with the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges over a possible tie-up. ‘Currently the possible areas of business operation of the joint venture company include, but are not limited to, the development of index and other equity derivative products and the compilation of new indexes,’ it said. http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Money/Story/STIStory_703391.html
Asian Development Bank president Haruhiko Kuroda said on Thursday any Asian currency integration is a long way off and cast doubt on the Chinese yuan emerging as a regional unit. The idea of a single currency for Asia and of integrating the region’s economies was first touted after the financial crisis of 1997-1998. But the recent problems seen in the euro zone, with the bailouts of countries like Greece and Ireland, have exposed the frailties of a common currency area. http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Money/Story/STIStory_703384.html
Xinhuanet.com
The State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) pledged to keep up the pressure against “hot money”, as it seeks to deal with speculative capital inflows amid rising inflation and ample global liquidity. In a statement posted on its website on Wednesday, the regulator said it had dealt with 1,865 cases in violation of the foreign exchange regulations in the first half of 2011, involving a total of $16 billion, 26 percent more than the same period last year. http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/business/2011-08/18/c_131057447.htm
Chinese Ministry of Finance (MOF) announced on Wednesday its third and largest renminbi (RMB) denominated treasury bond issue in Hong Kong. The amount totaling 20 billion yuan exceeded the aggregate of bond issuance in the past including 6 billion yuan and 8 billion yuan in 2009 and 2010 respectively. Analysts expected the move to both diversify RMB investment options and boost the RMB bond market. In the long run, with Hong Kong’s status of an offshore RMB center confirmed by the central government, it is of highly supportive significance. http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/china/2011-08/17/c_131056455.htm
Brazil’s economic activity fell in June for the first time in 30 months, the country’s central bank said Wednesday. The central bank’s IBC-Br economic activity index fell 0.26 percent in June to 142.9 points, the first drop since December 2008. But compared with the same period of last year, the IBC-Br registered a 3.07 percent rise in June. The indicator rose 0.69 percent in the second quarter, showing a considerable slowdown compared with the 1.37 percent expansion in the first quarter. http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/business/2011-08/18/c_131058238.htm
Russia’s gross domestic product ( GDP) in the first half of 2011 rose by 3.7 percent, Russian Statistics Agency Rosstat said on Wednesday. In the second quarter this year, the GDP grew up by 3.4 percent compared to the same period of 2010, according to Rosstat’s preliminary calculations. This is below the forecasts of 3.7 percent made by the Economic Development Ministry. The ministry also forecast the GDP growth in the first half of 2011 to be 3.9 percent. http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/business/2011-08/18/c_131056748.htm
TheHindu.com
Latin America (Latam) and Japan are emerging as major markets for the Indian IT industry in the wake of the downward trend in the U.S. and Europe, according to D. K. Sareen, Executive Director, Electronics and Computer Software Export Promotion Council (ESC), an autonomous organisation under the Department of Technology. He said that even as efforts were being made by the council over the last few years to diversify Indian IT export markets beyond the traditional base, it now appears that these regions along with Africa were well poised to become the main markets in future http://www.thehindu.com/business/Industry/article2366373.ece
EconomicTimes.com
The Centre’s debt rose nearly 6% in the first quarter of the current fiscal, but dropped as a percentage of GDP because of the revision in GDP estimates. The total public debt of the government was Rs 31.5 lakh crore at that end of June 2011 against Rs 29.7 lakh crore at the end of March 2011. Internal debt constituted 90.3% of the total public debt, up marginally from 89.7% at the end of the previous quarter, showed the public debt management report released by the finance ministry on Wednesday. http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/finance/public-debt-rises-6-to-rs-315-lakh-cr-in-q1/articleshow/9641806.cms
Yonhapnews.co.kr
South Korea’s finance minister asked lawmakers Thursday to cooperate in swiftly passing a free trade agreement (FTA) with the United States, saying that the deal would help the nation gain a preemptive position in one of the world’s largest markets. The Korea-U.S. FTA, known as KORUS FTA, was signed in 2007 but the deal was supplemented in late December with minor modifications that mostly deal with the auto industry. The agreement has been awaiting approval from the legislatures of the two countries. http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/business/2011/08/18/80/0502000000AEN20110818006000320F.HTML
TheMoscowTimes.com
While Moscow is getting more expensive to live in, the world’s costliest cities are Oslo, Zurich and Geneva, according to the UBS report “Prices and Earnings — 2011″ conducted in 73 cities. A year ago, Copenhagen was in third place. The leaders in terms of salaries are the same as last year’s — Zurich, Geneva and Copenhagen, with the latter dropping from first place to third. The cost of living in Moscow increased. Judging by the level of its prices, the capital rose 14 spots to 42nd place; judging by wages and purchasing power, it retained its former positions: 41st and 27th http://www.themoscowtimes.com/business/article/prices-rising-faster-than-wages-in-moscow/442245.html#ixzz1VM7zVHHL
TehranTimes.com
Iran’s non-oil exports to the Latin American countries surge around 15 percent in the last Iranian calendar year (ended on March 20, 2011), the director of Europe and America bureau of the Trade Promotion Organization of Iran said here on Wednesday. Irna news agency quoted Abdolhamid Asadian as saying that Iran’s non-oil exports to the Latin American countries stood at 137 million dollars two years ago, which increased to 151 million dollars in the last year. http://tehrantimes.com/index.php/economy-and-business/1705-irans-non-oil-exports-to-latin-america-up-15
KhaleejTimes.com
Exports continue to increase fostering growth in Dubai’s manufacturing sector and South and West Asia are top destinations for Dubai products by value, according to Dubai Export Monitor – a yearly publication by the government. Dubai Exports, an agency of the Department of Economic Development (DED), Government of Dubai, revealed that in 2010, the Emirate has been exporting diverse products, such as gold and precious metals, sugar, plastics & food, in various target export markets particularly in South and West Asia. http://www.khaleejtimes.com/biz/inside.asp?xfile=/data/business/2011/August/business_August345.xml§ion=business
