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China’s power consumption stood at 269.85 billion kilowatt hours (kwh) last month, down 3.7 percent compared with October last year, the first year-on-year monthly decrease since 1999.

According to the China Electricity Council (CEC), electricity consumption was 2.9 trillion kwh in the first 10 months, up 8.27 percent from the same period last year, compared with 9.67 percent in the first nine months.

Power supply also dropped last month with total electricity generated at 264.5 billion kwh, down 4 percent from October last year.

“Power generation was dragged down mainly by a 5.2 percent year-on-year decrease in coal-fired power supply, which accounts for about 80 percent of China’s total power,” the CEC statement said.

Analysts with Shanghai-based Guotai Jun’an Securities said the drop in consumption and supply signaled a slowdown in the country’s economy that went “beyond expectations”.

“The sudden slowdown in power demand shows many companies in the manufacturing sector have cut production due to a continuous price slump of industrial commodities both at home and abroad,” said a Guotai Jun’an analysis issued on Friday.

Experts further warned the decrease in power supply may sound an alarm for future economic slowdown, as successive falls in power generation often precede a similar downward trend in economic growth.

The large number of men in Asia who seek prostitution has become an important medium for the spread of HIV/AIDS in the Asia Pacific region, UN health officials warned here Friday.

At the launching ceremony of a on-line database on HIV/AIDS on Friday, Anupama Rao Singh, head of UNICEF East Asia-Pacific Regional office said there are estimated 75 million Asian men “regularly” buying sex from about 10 million Asian females who sell it, according to studies of the Commission of AIDS in Asia.

“We cannot overlook the threat of HIV’s continued transmission through the sex trade,” Singh said. “Because the implications on HIV trend among women and children are grave.”

She said that throughout Asia, an alarmingly large number of wives were found infected by their husbands or sex partners who engaged in unprotected sex trade. And the virus can still be passed on to the next generation when the wives become pregnant.

Experts of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), World Health Organization (WHO), and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) gathered Friday in the Philippine capital of Manila to unveil the on-line database that will facilitate researchers, policy-makers and civil groups who would need to do AIDS/HIV research in the region.

The site (www.aidsdatahub.org) contains consistently updated information on core HIV/AIDS indicators and national response in 24 countries and regions in east, southeast, and south Asia.

At the ceremony, Amala Reddy, regional program advisor of UNAIDS Asia and the Pacific, warned that because the “relatively large size” of men who buy sex, they have become a “powerful factor” in the spread of HIV/AIDS in the region.

She said that in Asia, about 50 million women who have no other behavior other than being the wives of men who are on this trend (buying sex) unfortunately risk being contracted with HIV/AIDS.

According to data revealed by UNICEF, Asian women, categorized as low-risk group, now represent less than 25 percent of all HIV infections but the proportion could have shoot up to 30 percent by2015, mostly infected through their husbands and sex partners.

Quoting UNAIDS report, Reddy said currently there are 5 million people in Asia living with HIV/AIDS with around 400,000 people being newly infected every year.

She said the number is likely to soar to 500,000 by 2010 when the accumulated number of HIV infection cases in Asia rise up to 10 million.

Reddy said, however, UNAIDS experts don’t expect the infection percentage of population in Asia will be as high as the case of Africa, for most infection in Asia are concentrated in high risk groups such as sex workers, intravenous drug users, men who have sex with men.

In Asia, there are around 20 million intravenous drug users and men who had sex with men, according to the report of Commission of AIDS in Asia, published earlier this year.

Massimo Ghidinelli, WHO regional advisor on HIV/AIDS, said besides men who buy sex, men who have sex with men (MSM) without using condom is another high-risk group that needs particular attention in the region.

He said WHO even could not get a “fully accurate picture” on the exact magnitude of the contribution of MSM to AIDS spread because of the sensitivity of the issue and neglects of the governments.

“It is a new phenomenon and we have insufficient understandings and studies.” Ghidinelli said. “The problem may be much greater than what we have believed.”

But UN health officials said the use of condom has been proved an effective way to stem the virus spread.

“There should be mass awareness campaigns, aggressive promotion of condom usage. The experience in Thailand and Cambodia proves it works,” Reddy said.

“We know the ways. It is only that political leaders have to have the political will to do the right things,” she added.

Germany saw record high employment in October as the number of persons in employment whose place of residence was in Germany amounted to 40.84 million in the month, German Federal Statistical Office said on Thursday.

Compared with October 2007, the employed persons increased by 538,000, or 1.3 percent, said the Wiesbaden-based office, noting that this is “the highest number of persons in employment ever.”

Compared with September 2008, an additional 219,000 persons who had their place of residence in Germany were in employment in October.

The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate amounted to 7.1 percent in Germany, notably lower than in the same month one year earlier which hit 8.1 percent.

However, against the background of economic recession, the office warned that the figure was not reflection of the economy, saying that “experience shows that it often takes several months for trend changes in the overall economic development to show on the labor market.”

A survey of schools in about 40 countries has found that bullying in Australian primary schools is in the worst category in the world, according to a report by the daily newspaper Sydney Morning Herald on Sunday.

The report quoted the Trends in International Mathematics And Science Study as saying that more than a quarter of Australian year four students said they had suffered bullying.

The survey shows Australian primary school students suffer bullying at a rate of almost 50 percent above the international average, putting Australia in the worst category for bullying.

Of the 36 countries sampled in the survey of year four students, only Kuwait, Qatar, Taiwan and New Zealand fared worse than Australia.

Almost 460 Australian schools took part in the study, which was produced by the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement.

The results have alarmed child-health experts and education bodies, which have been running strict anti-bullying programs in schools over the past six years.

Chile will use “all the available tools” to cope with the global financial crisis, Finance Minister Andres Velasco said Monday.

The government will do its best to defend the economy and employment in 2009, a year forecasted to be difficult for Chile and the world, Velasco said.

“We have used and will continue to use all the available tools to defend the economy and employment,” he said.

Velasco said Chile had worked out opportune and strong measures to ease the impact of the crisis on the country’s economic growth, adding that the government’s budget for public works “will grow almost 14 percent, which will also help employment next year.”

“While other countries are concerned about slow economic growth, we must remain relatively optimistic,” he said.

He said the Chilean market was maintaining stability and had received record investments during the year.

However, Velasco admitted that it would not be easy to keep this trend going in 2009.

Increasing number of New Zealanders believe that Asia is a region that is becoming more significant to their country than any other region, according to anew Asia New Zealand Foundation survey.

The 2008 Perceptions of Asia report, released on Monday, showed that 75 percent of New Zealanders see the Asia region as “important” to New Zealand’s future, up from 71 percent in 2007.

The Asia region is rated as “more important” than Europe (67 percent rated this region as “important”) and North America (55 percent rated this region as “important”).

Only the South Pacific region (including Australia) is rated as “more important” to New Zealand’s future than Asia (86 percent of New Zealanders rate the South Pacific region as “important” to New Zealand’s future).

Respondents were also asked to think about New Zealand in the next 10 to 20 years, and to indicate how much of a positive or negative impact various factors will have on New Zealand.

Overall, New Zealanders see Asia as an important export market, think that Asia’s economic growth will have a positive impact on New Zealand, see the benefits of free trade agreements between New Zealand and Asian countries.

The Asia New Zealand Foundation report also showed that more New Zealanders have an increasing amount of personal involvement with Asian people in 2008 than they did in 2007 (58 percent compared to 48 percent).

Other trends showed that a large proportion of New Zealanders agree that Asian immigrants bring valuable cultural diversity to New Zealand (82 percent in 2008; up from 76 percent in 2007) and six in 10 New Zealanders agree that Asian

Given the dismal economy and flattened wallets, not many would consider spending money on a hobby. But magician Liu Qian’s mind-blowing performance at the 2009 CCTV Spring Festival gala has set off many on a quest to learn a trick or two.

Wang Zhiwei, director of Beijing Magicians Club, says Liu has brought a large number of Chinese up and close with the kind of magic that makes use of everyday objects such as cards and coins.

During the gala, Liu managed to drop a coin into a glass placed upside down and transformed a finger ring into an intact egg, under the close and watchful eyes of the studio audience, leaving tens of thousands of viewers mesmerized by his showmanship.

The Beijing Qitian Magic Training Center is feeling the heat of this latest fad. It has recorded the highest enrollment in its history with more than 40 students attending classes every day, says Yuan Xijun, the center’s manager.

He says the one-month program costs anything between 300 (44 U.S. dollars) and 850 yuan (125 dollars) based on the different skill levels, and once the students learn the basics, it is their personalities that create the one-of-a-kind magic trick.

“We don’t subject students to a rigorous, knuckle-busting practice regimen,” says Yuan.

Last week, Wang Hongjun did a walk-in registration armed with a 300-yuan budget. The 33-year-old engineer hopes he can cram at least five tricks to show off at an upcoming company gathering.

“I just want to impress my boss and colleagues with some card tricks,” says Wang, who believes this is a good way to build up office camaraderie.

The increased interest in learning magic can also be attributed to an economically independent and socially engaged Generation X. Xu Wei, a 28-year-old accountant who gave up a pair of Levis jeans to register for the program, says he wants to get married but has trouble finding an admirer. Inspired by Liu, who has a largely female fan base, Xu says he expects some party magic will make him more popular and help him socialize more.

“I think it is working,” reveals the young man, alluding to the recent fondness expressed by at least three girls in his social circle.

Cai Mingfei, founder of the Magician Society at the Communication University of China, says ever since Liu’s gala debut, he has been receiving several phone calls and e-mails asking what training in magic is available. Most of them are young men hoping that knowledge of magic will give them a leg-up in their careers and in life, he says.

“I’m happy to see this enthusiasm,” says Liu, the Taiwan-based magician, who is considered China’s foremost practitioner of close-up magic. Magic has never been as socially acceptable as in China now, he says.

Ultimately, magic is an art form that blends performance skills with personality. Hand-brain coordination is the key to success, says Liu, who keeps his audience transfixed with his wit and never-ending jokes.

He began training at the age of 7 and says: “Just like Harry Porter, rigid training is required for anyone to be able to put up a good show.”

And the pull of magic, generated by the CCTV show, is not restricted to those living in China. Joseph Leung, a Chinese immigrant in New York, says that Liu’s performance so impressed him that he began learning from online videos and DVDs. The 45-year-old beginner says he has found that the secret to success is to mislead the audience - like making everybody concentrate on your right hand while pulling off the trick with your left.

Leung also finds incredible similarities between magic and Taiji. “Both of them require body coordination and mind control,” he says.

Wang believes magic even has the power to heal. This year, the club will send some of its members to local hospitals to help psychologically challenged children overcome their phobias.

While the trend of learning magic shows all signs of becoming stronger, some professional magicians are raising their eyebrows. Tian Xueming, a pro with more than 18 years of experience, is concerned that the wide exposure to magic could eventually kill it.

“The last thing I want to hear during a performance is: ‘Oh, I know how they do this.’ If the secret of a trick is revealed to everyone, there will be no more magic in the world,” he says.

Car production in Britain fell dramatically in January as shrinking demand dealt a heavy blow to manufacturers amid the global economic crunch. The British government is now facing calls to bail out the industry, boost output and further green production.

FALLING OUTPUT

In the face of the worst economic crisis in decades, demand for made-in-Britain is at its weakest in 17 years, and a sharp decline in output is expected over the next three months, the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) said recently.

Only 12 percent of companies expected output to increase over the next three months, while 56 percent said it would fall, according to CBI’s latest monthly industrial trends survey.

“The weak pound has made UK exports more competitive, but this advantage has been outweighed by falling global demand,” said John Cridland, CBI deputy director-general.

Car production in particular has suffered a sharp decline, plunging 58.7 percent in January to 61,404 units, with commercial vehicle output posting a substantial fall of 59.9 percent to 8,351,according to the latest figures released by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders Limited (SMMT).

CALLS FOR GOVERNMENT RESCUE

The British motor industry employs more than 850,000 people and produces about 1.75 million vehicles per year. To keep its wheels turning, the government is facing calls to pour cash into the sector, but the move seems to be losing favor among the public.

“The extent of the decline highlights the critical need for further government action to deliver the measures already announced and ease access to finance and credit,” said SMMT Chief Executive Paul Everitt.

Unite, Britain’s largest labor union, also warned that a declining output underlines the fact that the country’s car industry is in crisis, joining in calls for a government bailout.

The British government unveiled a rescue package at the end of January, which called for “both an economic objective and environmental imperative,” including loans of up to 1.3 billion pounds (1.88 billion U.S. dollars) from the European Investment Bank, as well as a further 1 billion pounds (about 1.45 dollars) in British government loans for eco-friendly vehicles.

“The government needs to act fast to inject cash into the car economy because the banks are failing to do so,” said Tony Woodley, joint general secretary of Unite.

To highlight the worsening situation, Woodley warned last Friday that at least one British car producer, which employs more than 6,000 people, faces risk of closure. He declined to identify the plant but said urgent state aid is needed to rescue the declining industry.

The government has described the statement as scare-mongering, which could destabilize a company or even an industry. However, the government’s response failed to ease public concern that the British car industry might be on the brink of collapse.

IS A BAILOUT JUSTIFIED?

Production for overseas markets, particularly Europe, has dealt with the downturn better than production for the domestic market, with a record 83.5 percent of car output allocated for export in January.

According to Everitt, “European markets have been lifted by scrap page incentive schemes.”

It was reported that the SMMT has proposed Britain follow France and Germany in adopting the so-called “scrap page scheme,” which says owners of old cars and vans who scrap and replace them with new ones will receive a bonus for the changeover.

The incentive is expected to boost car sales as well as reduce emissions since older and more polluting vehicles will be removed from the roads.

However, critics of the government’s bailout plan say the auto industry should adjust to the changing situation by lowering car prices to clear stocks.

Falling car sales and mounting stocks are believed to be justification for a government rescue plan, but it will pile more pressure on the country’s taxpayers since the government has already spent billions on bailing out many high street banks.

Some people suggest the government invest more in small and medium-sized businesses, instead of only concentrating on big companies.

MORE EFFORTS NEEDED FOR GREENER CAR INDUSTRY

On the environmental front, the ailing auto sector across the world has been strongly urged to step up efforts to turn out greener cars with higher efficiency and less pollution.

In response, the British government decided to increase funding to direct carmakers toward producing greener cars.

Over a period of 10 years, the average CO2 emissions of new British cars only lost 24 grams per kilometer (g/km), or 13 percent, to touch 165g/km in 2007. This means carmakers have to intensify efforts to improve green production, so that they can attain the EU limit for new car emission, set at 130 g/km for the year 2012.

Climbing the green ladder is an important goal, but returning the industry’s production to normal has become more urgent, as the plunging output has led to significant job losses, shorter working hours and factory closures since the economic downturn started to bite in October.

Job cuts and reduced production have hit all car manufacturers across Britain, including Aston Martin, which is to shed 600 jobs, BMW, set to lay off 850 staff, and Nissan, which is making over 1,200 workers redundant.

Britain has been warned that unemployment will reach close to 2.9 million at the end of the year. The battered car industry may cause more people to lose their jobs as the recession deepens.

Britain’s Sunday Times newspaper recently unveiled its first Green Rich List, featuring the world’s top 100 tycoons or wealthy families who have made either serious investments in green technology and businesses or hefty financial commitments to environmental causes.

Of the tycoons or wealthy families worth 200 million pounds sterling (290 million U.S. dollars) or more, 35 richest U.S. financiers and entrepreneurs dominate the list, most of whom are from the Silicon Valley, followed by 17 Chinese, 10 British and 7 German tycoons.

The top two in the list are Warren Buffett, who invested in wind-energy projects, and Bill Gates, who has funded alternative fuels such as oil from algae.

In the context of the global economic slump, how come the richest and smartest financiers and businessmen coincide in focusing on “green industry?” And is it a cost-effective choice?

The sharp business sense may have been behind their “turn-to-green” decisions.

Investors with a strategic vision would not only chase profit from mature industries, but also look forward to the future.

Faced with shrinking nonrenewable resources, rising pollution and increased extreme climate change, more and more governments and people have realized that green industry, with the characteristics of high efficiency, low pollution, waste-recycling and energy-saving, would become the world’s leading trend in the near future.

In other words, those who first acquire updated green technology would gain the upper hand over their competitors in the future.

Even amid the continuing global financial crisis, the business elites remain unshaken in their determination. Many IT tycoons are turning to green investments to explore a new frontier, just like what they did to feed the then-infant Internet economy several decades ago.

Admittedly, the green investments are also a reflection of the corporate social responsibility of some global riches.

Fundamental R&D of green technology calls for large amounts of investment, but the outcome is hard to predict, with a relatively high possibility of failure and making little profit. As a result, many medium-sized corporations are reluctant to get involved.

Business tycoons like Buffett and Gates are beginning to turn their eyes to environmental protection and public welfare services. They are willing to make investments in experimental research, which is a laudable move.

There are 17 Chinese businessmen on the “green list,” who are mainly involved in solar energy and electric-car technology.

Unlike the American businessmen who tend to pursue more advanced technology, the Chinese tycoons pay much attention to mass production and application of green technologies.

A report of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in 2007 showed that China’s solar industry ranked first in the world in terms of size and scale.

All in all, the vision of these eco-pioneers offers inspiration and provides us with much food for thought. Firstly, green industry could be a new path for our economy in the face of a raging global financial crisis.

Second, green industry could reconcile profit seeking and environmental protection in a harmonious way for the first time in history, thus making development more sustainable.

Third, in the face of worsening global warming and pollution, actions speak louder than words. In cooperation with governments and environmental activists, the business world can be reckoned to be a combat-worthy force. The wealth we create could be greener than ever before.

The Anti-monopoly Law came into effect on August 1, 2008, a week before the fireworks would appear for the Beijing Olympics. The law has attracted much publicity since its promulgation by the National People’s Congress in August last year, which had culminated 13 years of legislative debate. A breathing space of 12 months between the time the law was passed and its effective date has enabled companies to review their business practices, and to ensure compliance under the new regulatory landscape.

Meanwhile, the economic landscape has witnessed considerable changes during the past 12 months. Against a backdrop of the sub-prime banking crisis in the United States that has spread across to Europe with banks writing down record figures as they battled with sour investments, sovereign funds have emerged as a new force to be reckoned with as they come to the rescue of financially distressed banks. China itself became a limited partner of Blackstone, and it has been announced that the Chinese social security fund will deploy monies into the private equity sector. With China continuing to be an attractive choice for foreign investors, how will the anti-monopoly legal regime impact the private equity houses ?

Risks or opportunities?

China, for all of its allure to foreign investors, also has an evolving legal and regulatory environment that can be tough to navigate. Unlike the old legislation, the Anti-monopoly Law will establish a regime with strict penalties and give the enforcement agency the power to strike down deals that pose monopolistic concerns. Will this spell more challenges for private equity funds?

The new regime will require an antitrust filing to be made if a transaction involves the acquisition of control or the ability to exercise decisive influence, and the turnover of the parties to the transaction exceeds certain amounts, or “filing thresholds” in antitrust jargon.

In many countries with long-established antitrust regimes, the turnover of private equity funds is calculated on an aggregate basis, which means the turnover of all portfolio companies that the fund has controlling interests would have to be added. Given the growing trend to raise bigger funds, with fund size in the billions of dollar becoming commonplace, private equity houses may find themselves crossing the filing thresholds and having to repeatedly make filings.

A private equity fund in Europe involved in a buyout of an American company would have to worry about antitrust clearance in China even if the parties are doing the deal outside China, as long as the transaction affects competition in the Chinese market. For high-profile transactions, especially those involving multinational corporations, the parties have to coordinate antitrust filings in various jurisdictions around the world that have merger control laws, such as the EU, the United States, South America (in particular Brazil) and countries in Asia with antitrust laws like Korea and Japan. Leading antitrust lawyers around the world have echoed that China will become the next major piece of antitrust review of global transactions.

If a private equity house has to make a filing, then it cannot proceed with the transaction until the merger control authority has completed reviewing the case, and has made a decision. If a transaction poses monopolistic concerns, the enforcement agency can disapprove a transaction, or approve with conditions attached, such as requiring divestiture of certain assets in order to address anti-competitive concerns.

But what if a fund is investing in a sector which it has not made any investments in before, so there is no overlap with other portfolio companies of the fund? For example, if a fund whose portfolio is comprised mainly of telecommunications and IT companies decide to invest in a profitable maker of cheese? In such a case, if the private equity house is successful in arguing that it should not have to undertake merger filing in China (or for that matter other relevant jurisdictions) because the non-overlap does not create competition concerns, then it could have an edge against strategic buyers in competitive bidding when companies are being auctioned to potential buyers. A seller would prefer a private equity buyer if it can complete the deal and pay the price quickly, compared to another bidder which has to drag over a long time contending with antitrust regulators, like in the widely known GE-Honeywell case.

In contrast to the older legislation, the new regime obliges antitrust filings only if there is an acquisition of “control” or “decisive influence”. While there are buyout funds and private equity houses favoring a controlling interest, there are other funds with a different investment strategy investing in minority stakes.

Thus, there are welcome changes under the Anti-monopoly Law. It will be interesting to see how the antitrust regime will evolve in China - like the Beijing Olympics, the whole world will be watching…