 |  | | How to Handle N Korea? |
| THEdeath of North Korea's leader, Kim Jong-il, and the ascendance to power of one of his sons, Kim Jong-un, creates some opportunities and potential traps for the administration and senior leaders in the United States.... |
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| |  | | A NEW KIM... A NEW CHANCE |
| ON my first trip to North Korea in 1989, I made a nuisance of myself by randomly barging into private homes. I wanted to see how ordinary North Koreans actually live, and people were startled but hospitable.... |
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 | World stocks up on US labour data, EU banks GLOBAL stocks advanced on Friday on further signs the US economy is improving, but trading activity was muted as the traditional holiday slowdown began in earnest. Investors have taken heart from figures on
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| | Tepid consumer spending points to slower US growth | | US CONSUMER spending was tepid in November and a gauge of business investment plans fell for a second month, pointing to some loss of momentum in the economy as the year ends.
The Commerce Department said on Friday consumer spending ticked up 0.1 percent after rising by the same margin in October.
Economists had expected spending, which accounts for two-thirds of US economic activity, to rise 0.3 percent.
In another report, the department said non-defense capital goods orders excluding aircraft, a closely watched proxy for business spending, fell 1.2 percent last month after declining 0.9 percent in October.
While the reports suggest some slowing in activity, they are unlikely to change perceptions that economic growth will top 3 percent in the current quarter after a 1.8 percent pace in July- September, boosted in part by a rebound in inventories.
US stock index futures pared gains on the data, while prices for US government debt trimmed losses. The dollar fell against the euro. The tepid consumer spending is in stark contrast with robust Black Friday business reported by retailers.
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| | Petronas in talks with oil majors for petchem tie-up | | LUMPUR PETRONAS is in talks with several global oil majors including Shell and Exxon Mobil to develop petrochemical plants within its $20 billion refinery complex in southern Malaysia, two sources with direct knowledge of the matter said.
Malaysia's national oil company is also talking to Japanese firms Itochu and Mitsubishi as well as to Dow Chemical Company — the largest US chemical maker — as it seeks to tap surging Asian demand and diversify its earnings, the sources told Reuters.
Petronas is expected to make a decision on the partnerships by mid-2012, which signals it is quickly moving beyond the feasibility stage of the project.
"Petronas is getting a lot of interest for the joint venture undertakings," said one source who declined to be identified as the talks are ongoing.
"They have moved to the basic engineering and design stage and after this the tendering process for building the complex will start," the source added.
Petronas, Shell and Mitsubishi officials in Malaysia declined to comment.
Itochu, Dow Chemical and Exxon Mobil were not immediately available to comment.
Petronas first unveiled the Refinery and
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| | Gold firms as upbeat data lifts euro | | GOLD prices firmed a touch in Europe on Friday, tracking gains in the euro as upbeat US data boosted interest in assets seen as higher risk at the dollar's expense, though volumes were light as financial markets wound down towards year-end.
Spot gold was up 0.1 percent at $1,607.55 an ounce at 1310 GMT. The precious metal remains on track for its worst quarterly performance in more than three years, although it has climbed more than 13 percent this year.
"Markets have now moved into a pretty rock-steady price range, with most investors on the sidelines ahead of the new year," said Pradeep Unni, senior analyst at Richcomm Global Services. "Volatility too has declined significantly." "In the immediate term it looks like gold will be associated with the other risky assets and may slip lower when we see a spike in the US dollar. The safe-haven status of gold seems to have been tarnished a bit.
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