CHINA's GDP to grow at 8.6pc

Deteriorating demand from China's biggest trading partners in the European Union and the
United States has drags growth in the world's second-biggest economy down to its lowest-year 18.1 percent jump in retail sales. The GDP is expected to be in 8.6 pc for 2011-12

The pullback in activity has fuelled expectations that the government will take more forceful measures to bolster growth and save jobs, beyond the so-called fine-tuning it began to implement in October, in the face of a festering European debt crisis and a sharp slowdown in the domestic property sector.

Beijing reduced the amount of cash that banks have to hold as reserves in November for the first time in three years in a bid to shore up cooling economic activity and maintain a steady supply of credit to companies and consumers.

But official data has also shown a fall in fixed asset investment growth and a further slowdown
in the rate of property investment that has been a key driver of economic expansion.


Japanese manufacturers remained pessimistic about business conditions for the second straight month in January amid Europe's debt crisis and the slowing global outlook