Asia This Day:Indian Prime Minister Departs for Russia,China

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has embarked on a five day journey to Russia and China.While in China,he will be discussing the Border Defence Cooperation Agreement the two countries have been negotiating to avoid clashes over extensive sections of their 4,000 kilometer border.Mr.Singh will also attempt to improve trade with both Russia and China,including energy and defence projects.*
The scope of our relationship with Russia is unique,the Prime Minister said,encompassing strong and growing cooperation in areas such as defence,nuclear energy,science and technology,hydrocarbons,trade and investment.*
India and China have historical issues and there are areas of concern,Mr.Singh continued.The two governments are addressing them with sincerity and maturity,without letting them affect the overall atmosphere of friendship and cooperation.I will be discussing some of these issues as part of strategic communication between leaders with a forward-looking and problem-solving approach.*
Besides arms purchases from Russia,while in Moscow he will also discuss completion of a nuclear reactor Russia has been building on India's southern coast that has caused safety concerns.*
In April,Indian and Chinese troops faced off for three weeks in a remote Himalayan desert region,when India accused Chinese soldiers of intruding 20 kilometers/12 miles into Indian territory.Another standoff occurred in August.*
China's Fosun International is buying 1 Chase Manhattan Plaza in New York City for 725 million dollars.It is the largest ever NYC purchase by a Chinese buyer.JP Morgan Chase will relocate most of its employees from the iconic 60 storey tower,which has 2.2 million square feet of office space,to other sites in the city.The US is China's number one choice for real estate investing;Canada is second.*
In golf,South Korean Jin Jeong won the European Tour's ISPS Handa Perth International in Australia Sunday,defeating England's Ross Fisher in a playoff.Australians Brody Ninyette and Dimitrios Papadatos,along with Englishman Danny Willett,tied for fifth place.*
JP Morgan Chase(JPM)

Asia This Day:Japan's New Prime Minister;Has China Turned The Corner

Shinzo Abe(pronounced ah-bay) has been elected the new Prime Minister of Japan.His LDP Party has a 61% majority in Parliament;with a partner,the LDP will have a 68% majority.Mr.Abe had served as Prime Minister three years ago.
The question now is how they use that majority,said Mohammed Apabhai of Citi Global Markets Asia.The priority at the moment is actually controlling deflation and getting growth back on track.Reflation trades include insurers,banks and real estate.
Abe will restore nuclear power to provide affordable energy to the Japanese economy.Only two of Japan's nuclear reactors are currently on line,down to public outrage after last year's tsunami and nuclear accident.Japan's debt to GDP ratio is 237%,the highest in the world.
It's undeniable that China has really turned the corner.There's a lot of scepticism about that from clients internationally.The upside in the rest of Asia is actually a lot higher.
The Chinese Politburo will keep policy stable with adjustments as needed,accepting slower growth.It will fully deepen reforms and firmly promote opening up,the Xinhua news agency reported.
China has submitted documentation on its territorial dispute with Japan in the South China Sea to the United Nations.
Indian investors are awaiting the Royal Bank of India interest rate decision.The Nifty Fifty futures index was down 0.08%.
Australia is in talks with Sri Lanka to curb people smuggling.
The Nikkei index was up a strong 1.54% on Abe's election,while the MSCI Asia Pacific index was up by only 0.04% in early Monday trading.
Citigroup(C)

Asia This Day:Chinese Economy Still Under Pressure,Premier Says

Japan's machinery orders dropped 14.8%,which is seven times worse than estimates.As well,the current account balance fell about 63%,reflecting a drop in chemical and aerospace orders,and increased imports of liquefied natural gas.The Kansai Electric Ohi nuclear reactor number 3 is now running at full capacity,having been restarted last week,but it only supplies 2% of the country's electricity.A lot of LNG imports will still be needed until other reactors come back into service.
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said China will continue to intensify pre-emptive fine-tuning of policy.There are still relatively large downward pressures on the economy.Real estate market controls will continue,as speculation must be stopped.Don't expect such controls to be eased anytime soon.China's inflation declined for the fifth consecutive month below Mr.Wen's 4% target rate,settling at 2.2 %,below the 2.3% estimate.
Shares of Australian miners Iluka Resources and BHP Billiton dropped on fears of a Chinese hard landing and worsening global demand generally.The MSCI Asia Pacific Index was down 0.82% in early Monday trading,while India's Nifty Fifty futures index declined on the Chinese inflation numbers and U.S. jobs stagnation.The Chinese low inflation figures are being seen by analysts as a confirmation of continued weakness.
On a lighter note,South Korean golfer Na Yeon Choi,24,won the Women's U.S. Open at Black Wolf Run in Wisconsin.She survived some harrowing mistakes on the back nine with cool-headed recovery shots,earning her first major victory and her sixth total win on the LPGA Tour.Her countrywoman Amy Yang was second on the leaderboard.
BHP Billiton,Ltd.(BHP),Iluka Resources,Ltd.(ASE:ILU)

Asia This Day:Japan Restarts Nuclear Plant;Confidence Up

Despite loud protests,Japan has restarted its Fukui Prefecture Ohi nuclear power plant,saying the quality of life was being hurt by the recent switch to more expensive fossil fuels.The country had placed a moratorium on nuclear power a few months ago for safety checks in the wake of last year's meltdown at the Fukushima nuclear plant.
The Tankan survey of Japanese large companies showed a greater than expected increase in business confidence.Australian home prices rebounded the most in two years on rate cuts,while manufacturing contracted at a slower pace in June than in May.
The HSBC China Purchasing Managers Index fell to 48.2 in June from 48.4 in May.It has shown contraction for the past eight months.Manufacturing orders and export demand are down on the Euro-zone debt crisis.The Shanghai Composite Index was down 0.42% in early Monday trading on the news.
Hong Kong's stock market is closed today following the inauguration of the territory's new chief executive,C.Y. Leung,on Sunday morning.Chinese Premier Hu Jintao attended the ceremony.Tens of thousands of protesters marched through the streets,denouncing Mr.Leung,a former real estate executive,as a Beijing figurehead.A big fireworks display was nontheless held to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the handover of Hong Kong to China by the U.K.
India's Nifty Fifty stock futures index rose on optimism about a Euro-zone agreement on how to resolve the debt problem.
iShares MSCI Japan Index Fund(EWJ)

New Jerseyans Like Nuke Plant Next Door

For many residents of the Barnegat Bay area,fear of nuclear energy doesn't enter the equation.They like to fish and swim in the warm waters the local Exelon reactor discharges.They feel it improves their quality of life in general,supporting the economy with jobs as well as providing recreation.In short,the oldest nuclear power plant in America improves the health of the community.
To be sure,there are drawbacks to the warm water.Environmentalists point out its interference with the health of Barnegat Bay,killing sea turtles and countless fish.To those who live in its shadow,however,the Exelon plant has been a good neighbor-one that they think more than makes up for any drawbacks.
Barnegat Bay is a 30-mile long arm of the Atlantic Ocean.Its brackish waters are off the coast of Ocean County,New Jersey.
Exelon(EXC)

Bill Richardson:Nuclear is Positive

Former Energy Secretary and New Mexico governor Bill Richardson continues to believe in nuclear energy as part of the power mix.Nuclear provides 20% of our power today,Mr.Richardson said.This is a time for debate about our nuclear plans.We have to assure the public about our nuclear plants.
Nuclear is positive because it doesn't cause greenhouse gas emissions.We have to show the public that it's safe with evacuation plans.The Diablo Canyon plant in California is safe up to an 8.9 earthquake.The reality is,security has dramatically improved and there have been no U.S. incidents since Three Mile Island.
The public and Congress are gonna have to back this.Five more nuclear reactors are slated to be built in the next 10 years,Bill Richardson pointed out.
A recent poll showed the American public evenly split about building more nuclear power plants.President Barack Obama has reaffirmed his support for the projects.
On March 28,1979,a partial core meltdown occurred at Unit 2 at the Three Mile Island nuclear plant near Harrisburg,Pennsylvania.It was the worst accident in the history of U.S. commercial nuclear power.The plant is in operation to this day.

Asia This Day:Japan Quake Business Effects-plus an update

Japan is bracing for rolling power blackouts today.Several nuclear plants are offline-one of them permanently,crimping the country's electricity supply.Japan needs 40 million kilowatts,but has been reduced to 10 million.In consequence,there will be 3-hour blackouts for each district.The central business district in Tokyo,where government offices are located,will not be affected.
There is also a shortage of fresh food,water,candles,batteries and rice.Relief supplies are beginning to make their way northward,but many areas have yet to see any.
Cooling efforts continue at four nuclear reactors.U.S. officials said that contamination is not expected to reach America's shores,even though 180,000 Japanese have been evacuated from the reactor zones.Singapore is testing all food imports from Japan for radiation.The imports are predicted to become more expensive as their supply dwindles.
The Japanese stock market reopened Monday,with the Nikkei 225 index down 4.46 at lunchtime.The more broadly based Topix index fell 5.85,while the yen rose 0.45 against the U.S. dollar.Construction stocks were up as high as 62%.
Citigroup said Japanese industrial production would fall 1-2% because of the quake,but will ultimately benefit as reconstruction gets fully underway.Societe Generale feels that the quake will lower bond yields,but the Japanese economy will recover.
The Bank of Japan moved its scheduled meeting up an hour.It is injecting trillions of yen into the system to ensure liquidity.
Update:Nils Diaz,former chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission,says the Japan nuclear accident is relatively low level.He ranked it as a 2 or 3 out of seven.The Japanese workers have it well in hand,carefully releasing small amounts of radiation.It isn't an uncontrolled event such as Ukraine's Chernobyl accident was in the 1980s.As well,the Japanese reactors are more advanced in design and are recovering from a natural disaster,not human error as occurred at Chernobyl or Three Mile Island in Pennsylvania.
Toyota and Nissan have shut production down for the moment.Toyota's stoppage will mean a cut of 40,000 vehicles.On the other hand,Toshiba is restarting a chip factory,though Sony has shuttered facilities.
iShares Japan Index Fund(EWJ)