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Euro Zone debt Crisis Warning: China a forerunner for global Downturn A global economy slowing only gently would be an immense relief after a fraught end to 2011, but it is far from guaranteed. Greek debt discussions could retract next week in a tussle over the size of losses banks that must to face. Based from Bradley Associates World Current News, the anxiety over Iran's nuclear program continues to threaten oil markets. While, U.S data surprisingly showed the weak retail sales and a rise of unemployment last week, a reminder that the U.S recovery is not yet out of the woods. So, even as signs suggest only a slight easing in global growth this year to a pace around 3 percent, the pitfalls are numerous. Mainly, among them is China. Data on Tuesday is expected to present growth in China, the world's second-largest economy, cooled in the fourth quarter to 8.7 percent from a year earlier, against 9.1 percent in the prior quarter. It would be the slowest speed of growth since mid-2009 when the global economy was crawling out of a deep recession. In addition, the biggest question is how much of the slowdown can be blamed on slackening worldwide demand for China's exports and how much on weakening domestic growth. According to Bradley Associates World Current News, If China's central growth is stalling, that would put yet another drag on countries such as Germany and the United States, which are relying upon strong exports themselves to help compensate for the sluggish growth at home. U.S trade data for November was slightly stimulating on that score, with exports to China up by 2.1 percent to their highest level in almost a year. However, data from China revealed that in December demand slackened and imports from the United States which fell down to 2.7 percent, and the nation's overall trade surplus fell to a three-year low down, raising alarms around the world of a very difficult landing. A pointed downturn in Chinese demand would also spell damage to

THERE HAS BEEN much talk about how rapid growth markets (RGMs) are expected to be the drivers of the global economy over the next decade. RGMs are countries that emerged from the 2008 recession with minimum damage and which project significant growth. They include a number of economies from the Asia Pacific region. While this is certainly cause for cautious optimism, it also raises the concern that the pressure for these markets to generate growth may also increase the risk of fraud, bribery, and corruption. The Ernst & Young Asia Pacific Fraud Survey Report 2013, released just last Sept. 26, indicates that while many companies in the region have created, or are in the process of creating, policies and procedures to deal with fraud, bribery and corruption, there is often a disconnect in the local application of, and compliance with, these policies. The report surveyed top executives from Australia and New Zealand, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea and Vietnam. While the Philippines was not included in the survey, there are many important lessons that local executives can glean from the report. It complements government's current anti-corruption stance and a similar drive in the private sector for more transparency and integrity in dealing with government. Read more: http://www.bworldonline.com/content.php?section=Economy&title=Managing-fraud-and-corruption-in-Asia-Pacific&id=77517