China services growth adds to economic revival hopes

BEIJING (Reuters) – Growth in China‘s increasingly important services sector accelerated in December at its fastest pace in four months, adding to signs of a modest year-end revival in the world’s second-largest economy.

China’s official purchasing managers’ index (PMI) for the non-manufacturing sector rose to 56.1 in December from 55.6 in November, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said on Thursday.

Two PMIs on the manufacturing sector earlier this week also suggested China’s economic growth was picking up late in 2012, although signs persist it depends primarily on state-led investment.

Data so far suggests only a muted revival in economic growth, rather than a return to the double-digit pace seen in China over the past three decades, Hong Kong-based economist Dariusz Kowalczyk said.

“Absolute levels of both December manufacturing and non-manufacturing PMIs remain relatively low by historical standards and consistent with only modest rebound in economic activity,” Kowalczyk, Credit Agricole’s senior economist for Asia except Japan, said.

He said economic growth picked up in the fourth quarter of 2012 after sliding for seven straight quarters, but in sharp contrast to China’s previous, more pronounced bull runs, it could fade after the first quarter of 2013.

The greatest driver in the pick up in the non-manufacturing sector in December was a jump in construction services to 61.9 from 61.3 in November. Industries including transport slumped, the NBS said in an accompanying statement.

A reading above 50 indicates growth is accelerating, while one below 50 indicates it is slowing.

The strength in construction services is consistent with other indicators, including rising land prices, that point to a revival in China’s property markets, which support about 40 other industries. Signs of a pick up come despite central government protestations that it will not relax credit and purchasing curbs that have stifled the sector in the past two years.

The transport slowdown is also consistent with weak demand for China’s exports in the face of euro area and Japan recessions and an uncertain fiscal outlook in the United States.

SERVICES GROW IN IMPORTANCE

The official manufacturing PMI survey in December matched November’s seven-month high of 50.6, the NBS said on Tuesday, while a complementary survey with a greater focus on the private sector reached 51.5, its highest since May 2011.

China’s fast-growing services industry has so far weathered the global slowdown much better than the factory sector, with the PMI consistently signaling healthy expansion and hitting a 10-month high of 58.0 in March.

That’s partly due to a maturing economy as well as a historic shift in the last decade leading a majority of Chinese to live and work in cities rather than the countryside.

China’s services sector generated 43 percent of China’s GDP in 2010 and by 2011 provided nearly 36 percent of new jobs, exceeding the agricultural sector for the first time.

Beijing has acknowledged that greater consumer activity is needed to reduce the economy’s reliance on the exports sector and investment-led growth.

“Expanding domestic demand will be a major stimulus for China’s economic growth, and the greatest potential will come from the service sector,” Xia Nong, deputy director-general of the Department of Industry under the National Development and Reform Commission, said on Friday, according to the China Daily.

Xia pledged to open the services sector to more foreign competition as well as encouraging Chinese service firms to go overseas.

Foreign investment into the service sector of $ 47.57 billion in the first 11 months of 2012 surpassed that directed to the manufacturing industry, which slumped by 7.1 percent, the China Daily said over the weekend, citing Ministry of Commerce data.

The growing services sector has taken up some of the slack from the property sector, which has struggled with investment and purchasing restrictions as well as a credit crunch.

Overseas company investment into China’s urban transportation surged 24-fold in the first 11 months from a year ago, followed by a 12-fold rise in telecommunications and other information services, and a sevenfold increase in pipeline transportation industries, at sevenfold, the China Daily said, again citing Ministry of Commerce figures.

The sector, formerly the bastion of smaller private businesses, is now important enough to have its own five-year plan, issued in September.

(Editing by Neil Fullick)

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France counts 1,193 cars torched on New Year’s Eve

PARIS (AP) — A New Year’s Eve tradition for some in France of torching empty, parked cars has continued.

Interior Minister Manuel Valls said Tuesday that 1,193 vehicles were burned overnight around the country, where the stunt began in the 1990s.

There was no way to compare this figure to recent ones because the conservative government of former President Nicolas Sarkozy stopped making the numbers public while he was in office. But the rate of burned cars was apparently steady. On Dec. 31, 2009, 1,147 vehicles were burned.

For some, the decision of France’s current Socialist government to resume making public figures of New Year’s Eve’s torched cars is unwise.

Bruno Beschizza, a security chief for Sarkozy’s UMP party, said on iTele TV that publishing the numbers motivates youths to commit such crimes.

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7 Apps for Creepers

1. Sneakypix

Ever been waiting on the train platform, minding your business, only to glance to your left and find yourself face-to-face with a grown-up nose picker? In this day and age, our first inclination is to snap a discreet photo. Sneakypix makes it appear as if you’re on a phone call, but instead, aim your camera lens at the nasal aficionado and the app will fire off a series of stealth photos or video. Price: $ 0.99

Click here to view this gallery.

[More from Mashable: Mom Gives Son a Christmas iPhone — With Strings Attached]

Do you have a smartphone? Then chances are you’ve been a creeper.

Now don’t get all defensive, just yet. How many times have you snapped a photo of some hipster’s pink beard on the subway? How often do you send racy pictures to your husband during his business trips? How many times have you wondered whether your teenager was smoking pot on the Williamsburg Bridge or visiting his grandma in Queens?

[More from Mashable: 9 Apps to Fast-Track Your New Years’ Resolutions]

While we’re not advocating sinister, paranoid behavior (take a hike, stalkers), sometimes it’s helpful and downright fun to act like James Bond. And it turns out, you don’t need all the slick gadgets to do it.

These seven iPhone and Android apps will get you started, secret agent-style.

But seriously, for the love of Carl, don’t do anything illegal. Mmm-kay?

Image courtesy of iStockphoto, klosfoto

This story originally published on Mashable here.

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Heartwarming moments defy chill at Rose Parade

PASADENA, Calif. (AP) — A couple who became husband and wife on the “Love Float,” a surprise reunion between a returning soldier and his little boy, and a grand marshal famed globally for her chimpanzee research were among the highlights of the 124th Rose Parade on Tuesday.

The parade’s spectacular 42 floral floats brightened an otherwise cloudy New Year’s morning and boosted the spirits of a chilled crowd estimated at some 700,000 spectators lining the 5-mile route.

“The only way that you’re going to experience the Rose Parade is to be here in person,” said Los Angeles resident Gineen Alcantara-Nakama, who camped out Monday night to save front row sidewalk spots.

“Growing up, I watched it on television, but it’s not the same — the smell, the atmosphere, smelling the flowers as they come down the street. And the energy. It’s like being with family all night long.”

Spectators rose to a standing ovation when Army Sgt. First Class Eric Pazz, who was riding on the Natural Balance Pet Foods float along with other service members, got off the float and walked over to his surprised wife Miriam and 4-year-old son Eric Jr., who came running out of the stands into the arms of his 32-year-old father.

Miriam Pazz had been told she had won a contest to attend the parade and did not know her husband, who is deployed in Afghanistan, would be there. A native of Clio, Mich., Pazz is a highly decorated soldier who has also served in Iraq. The family, who currently lives in Germany, climbed aboard the float for the rest of the route.

Cheers also went up for a Chesapeake, Va., couple who tied the knot aboard Farmers Insurance “Love Float.”

Gerald Sapienza and Nicole Angelillo were high school classmates who reconnected 10 years later and won the parade wedding over three other couples in a nationwide contest. They received a trip to Pasadena, a wedding gown, tuxedo, rings, marriage license fees, Rose Bowl game tickets and hair and makeup for the bride.

The parade’s theme this year was “Oh the Places You’ll Go!” named in honor of the Dr. Seuss book. It served as a fitting slogan for grand marshal British primatologist Jane Goodall, who has spent much of her life in Tanzania studying chimpanzees.

Goodall chose conservation as her message for the parade

“My dream for this New Year’s Day is for everyone to think of the places we can all go if we work together to make our world a better place,” said Goodall, 78.

“Every journey starts with a step and I am pleased to see the Tournament of Roses continue to take steps toward not only celebrating beauty and imagination, but also a cleaner environment.”

This year’s parade also saw the first-ever float entered by the Defense Department.

The $ 247,000 military float was a replica of the Korean War Veterans Memorial in Washington to commemorate the veterans from that conflict.

The float that scooped up the parade’s grand “Sweepstakes” prize for the most beautiful floral presentation and design was “Dreaming in Paradise” by fruit and vegetable producer Dole.

According to parade rules, every inch of the floats must be covered with flowers or plant material, most of it applied by volunteers in the last weeks of December.

Besides floats, the parade also featured 23 marching bands and 21 equestrian units from around the world.

Banda El Salvador, a 200-plus member marching band and folkloric dance troupe, played sassy Latin rhythms and paid homage to their Central American country by dressing in the national colors of blue and white and shouting “Arriba El Salvador!”

The Aguiluchos band from Puebla, Mexico, earned cheers for their fancy footwork and vaquero rope tricks. Colorful dancers from Costa Rica and South Korea were other crowd pleasers.

Die-hard parade fans staked out their spots overnight or in pre-dawn hours with folding chairs, hammocks and portable barbeque grills despite frosty temperatures.

Emergency personnel received a number of cold-weather exposure calls, police department spokeswoman Lisa Derderian told City News Service.

As of 8 a.m. Tuesday, police had made a total of 22 arrests along the parade route since 6 p.m. Monday, said police Lt. Rick Aversan. All but one arrest were for suspected public intoxication. The other was for suspected possession of burglary tools that could have been used to break into cars, police said.

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“Fiscal cliff” crisis heads to resolution in Congress

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A months-long battle over the U.S. “fiscal cliff” headed to a close on Tuesday as the House of Representatives moved toward final approval of a bipartisan deal meant to prevent Washington from pushing the world’s biggest economy into recession.

The Republican-controlled House was expected to back a tax hike on the top U.S. earners shortly before midnight on Tuesday, ending weeks of high-stakes budget brinkmanship that threatened to spook consumers and throw financial markets into turmoil.

Approval of the bill would be a victory for President Barack Obama, who campaigned for re-election last November on a promise to raise taxes on the wealthiest but faced stiff opposition from congressional Republicans.

Republicans had earlier considered adding hundreds of billions of dollars in spending cuts after the bill had already passed the Senate with strong bipartisan support. That would have triggered further partisan warfare and pushed the crisis well past a self-imposed January 1 deadline.

But party leaders abandoned the effort after determining they lacked the votes.

“We’ve gone as far as we can go and I think people are ready to bring it to a conclusion,” Republican Representative Jack Kingston of Georgia said. “We fought the fight.”

Rules Committee Chairman David Dreier, a Republican, predicted the House would back the Senate bill, which also postpones for two months $ 109 billion in spending cuts on military and domestic programs set for 2013.

The bill easily cleared a procedural hurdle by a bipartisan vote of 408 to 10.

Lawmakers have struggled to find a way to head off across-the-board tax hikes and spending cuts that began to take effect at midnight, a legacy of earlier failed budget deals that is known as the fiscal cliff.

Strictly speaking, the United States went over the cliff in the first minutes of the New Year because Congress failed to produce legislation to halt $ 600 billion of tax hikes and spending cuts scheduled for this year.

TAX HIKES FOR WEALTHIEST

While many Republicans were uneasy with the tax hikes and wanted more spending cuts in the bill, they seemed to realize that the fiscal cliff would begin to damage the economy once financial markets and federal government offices returned to work on Wednesday. Opinion polls show the public would blame Republicans if a deal were to fall apart.

House Republicans had earlier considered adding $ 330 billion in spending cuts over 10 years to the Senate bill, which raises taxes on the wealthiest U.S. households by $ 620 billion over the same period.

But Senate Democrats refused to consider any changes to their bill, which passed 89 to 8 in a rare display of unity early Tuesday.

That measure, which passed the Senate at around 2 a.m., would raise income taxes on families earning more than $ 450,000 per year and limit the amount of deductions they can take to lower their tax bill.

Low temporary rates that have been in place for the past decade would be made permanent for less-affluent taxpayers, along with a range of targeted tax breaks put in place to fight the 2009 economic downturn.

However, workers would see up to $ 2,000 more taken out of their paychecks annually with the expiration of a temporary payroll tax cut.

The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office said the Senate bill would increase budget deficits by nearly $ 4 trillion over the coming 10 years, compared to the budget savings that would occur if the extreme measures of the cliff were to kick in.

But the bill would actually save $ 650 billion during that time period when measured against the tax and spending policies that were in effect on Monday, according to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, an independent group that has pushed for more aggressive deficit savings.

(Additional reporting by Rachelle Younglai, Thomas Ferraro and David Lawder; Writing by Andy Sullivan; Editing by Alistair Bell and Eric Beech)

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Asian shares up on US fiscal deal

2 January 2013 Last updated at 01:02 ET

Continue reading the main story

Asian markets have risen after the US House of Representatives passed a deal to stave off the fiscal cliff.

A failure to agree a deal would have triggered spending cuts and tax increases worth $ 600bn (£370bn).

There had been fears that the measures would have derailed economic recovery in the world’s biggest economy and in a worst case push it into a recession.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index gained 2.1%, South Korea’s Kospi added 1.7% and Australia’s ASX 200 rose 1.2%

Along with being the world’s largest economy, the US also is a key market for most of Asia’s export-dependent economies.

There were concerns that if the full effects of the fiscal cliff were allowed to take hold, it may have led to a reduction in consumer spending.

That in turn could have hurt demand for Asian exports to the US and impacted growth amongst the region’s leading manufacturers and economies.

Analysts said the approval of the deal had helped allay those fears among investors.

“With the final hurdle being passed now, we’ve got a minimum deal that avoids any immediate threat of the US falling off the cliff,” said Jason Hughes, head of premium client management for IG Markets Singapore.

“That’s definitely boosted Asian equities markets.” he said.

Regional boost

Market sentiment was also boosted by some encouraging regional economic data.

Manufacturing activity in China, the region’s biggest economy and one of the key drivers of global growth in recent years, expanded for the third straight month in December.

China’s official Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI), a key indicator or activity in the sector, stood at 50.6 in December. A reading above 50 shows expansion.

Meanwhile, a survey of manufacturing activity in South Korea indicated an expansion in the sector for the first time in seven months in December.

Over in Japan, the yen continued to weaken against the US dollar.

The Japanese currency was trading as low as 87.30 yen against the US dollar, the lowest level since July 2010.

Japan’s new Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe, has promised to take measures to weaken the yen to help revive the country’s struggling economy.

The yen has fallen almost 9% against the US dollar since 15 November amid hopes of additional stimulus from the newly elected government.

A weaker yen bodes well for Japanese exporters as it makes their goods more affordable to foreign buyers and also helps boost profits when they repatriate their foreign earnings back home.

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Pope marks end of difficult year, notes God’s good

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Benedict XVI marked the end of a difficult year Monday by saying that despite all the death and injustice in the world, goodness prevails.

Benedict celebrated New Year’s Eve with a vespers service in St. Peter’s Basilica to give thanks for 2012 and look ahead to 2013. He appeared tired during the service and used a cane afterward — an indication that the busy Christmas season may be taking a toll on the 85-year-old Benedict.

In his homily, Benedict said it’s tough to remember that goodness prevails when bad news — death, violence and injustice — “makes more noise than good.” He said taking time to meditate in prolonged reflection and prayer can help “find healing from the inevitable wounds of daily life.”

This past year was full of highs and lows for the pope, including a successful trip to Mexico and Cuba but also the betrayal of his butler, convicted in October of stealing Benedict’s personal papers and leaking them to a journalist.

After the service, Benedict was brought out in a covered car to pray before the Vatican’s main nativity scene in St. Peter’s Square. Walking with a cane in the chilly piazza, Benedict chatted animatedly with the artist who crafted the scene, which recreated an entire village from the poor, southern Italian region of Basilicata which donated this year’s crèche.

The Vatican gladly accepted Basilicata’s donation after the €550,000 price tag the Vatican paid for the 2009 nativity scene was revealed in the documentation leaked by Benedict’s ex-butler Paolo Gabriele.

Gabriele was convicted of aggravated theft by a Vatican tribunal and sentenced to 18 months in prison. He received a pre-Christmas papal pardon and is expected to soon leave his Vatican City apartment for a new home and job elsewhere.

On Tuesday morning, Benedict celebrates a New Year’s Day Mass, which the Catholic Church celebrates as its world day of peace.

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BlackBerry Z10 with AT&T-compatible LTE uncovered ahead of January unveiling

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Hollywood tops Chinese film market in 2012, first time in four years

SHANGHAI (Reuters) – China‘s 2012 box office was dominated by foreign films for the first time in four years as a deal cemented earlier this year saw more Hollywood film screened on the mainland, squeezing out domestic competition.

China’s box office receipts are expected to reach 16.8 billion yuan ($ 2.7 billion) in 2012 and about 8 billion yuan ($ 1.28 billion), or slightly less than half the receipts, are from domestic films, the official People’s Daily reported on Monday, quoting estimates from the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television.

It is the first time in four years that domestic film receipts totaled less than 50 percent of the market and signals that the February trade agreement to allow more Hollywood movies to be screened in China is having a significant impact on the country’s movie industry.

Last year, domestic films made up 54 percent of box office receipts, down slightly from 56 percent in 2010, local media reported. China agreed in February to open its market to more American movies, permitting 14 premium format films such as IMAX or 3D to be exempt from the annual 20 foreign film quota.

Last month, Tian Jin, China’s vice minister of the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television, said the U.S. film industry was reaping massive profits due to the February concession while domestic producers were under pressure.

However, the best-selling film this year is a low-budget, domestically-produced comedy called “Lost in Thailand” about two rival businessmen. The movie drew a bigger audience in China than James Cameron’s “Avatar”, the People’s Daily said.

($ 1 = 6.2335 Chinese yuan)

(Reporting by Melanie Lee; Editing by Matt Driskill)

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FDA new drug approvals hit 16-year high in 2012

LONDON/NEW YORK (Reuters) – U.S. regulators approved 39 new drugs in 2012, the most in 16 years, suggesting that pharmaceutical makers are poised for growth after losing billions of dollars in recent years to generic drug makers because of patent expirations.

There were eight approvals in December alone, including a new treatment from Johnson & Johnson called Sirturo for drug-resistant tuberculosis approved on Monday, the first new TB drug in decades.

The pharmaceutical sector badly needs a pick-up in productivity as companies try to refill their medicine chests after heavy losses to generic manufacturers, which have benefited from a string of patent expirations that peaked in 2012. When generics go on the market at a lower cost, sales of name brand drugs plummet.

The tally of 39 new drugs and biological products approved by the Food and Drug Administration compares with 30 in 2011 and just 21 in 2010. At least 10 of the drugs had fast track status in 2012, which enabled them to be reviewed more quickly.

It is the highest number since 1996, when 53 so-called new molecular entities won a green light. For a graphic on new drugs approvals see: http://link.reuters.com/nuz84t

The FDA has met and exceeded its drug review goals under the Prescription Drug User Fee Act, in which drug companies help fund the drug approval process in return for an agreement by the Food and Drug Administration to meet regulatory deadlines, FDA spokeswoman Sandy Walsh said in an e-mailed statement.

She said the “pipeline of new drugs under development remains strong and is growing.”

Major U.S. drug companies have lost about $ 21 billion in revenue this year from lucrative medicines coming off patent, while the hit for European businesses is about $ 10 billion, according to ratings agency Standard & Poor’s.

This year’s expirations have included Plavix, a heart drug made by Sanofi and Bristol-Myers Squibb, and Seroquel, an antipsychotic made by AstraZeneca.

Winning approval from regulators, however, is only part of the battle for drugmakers.

Investors will also be watching closely to see how the new drugs perform commercially once they reach the market, since securing payment for innovative medicines is an increasingly tough fight.

“The patent exposure will be less going forward, but where there is still a little bit of uncertainty is how much better the pipelines have become and how strong the recently approved products are,” said Damien Conover, the director of pharmaceutical research at research firm Morningstar Inc.

The 2012 approvals included some medicines that are forecast by analysts to become multibillion-dollar sellers, such as Eliquis for reducing stroke risk in patients with irregular heartbeats from Bristol Myers-Squibb and Pfizer Inc.

But many others are for rare diseases, underscoring the drug industry’s increased focus on specialized, niche products.

They include treatments such as a Kalydeco from Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc for a rare form of the lung disorder cystic fibrosis and Signifor from Novartis AG for Cushing’s disease, caused by over-production of the hormone cortisol.

The last drug approval of the year on Monday afternoon was for a drug to relieve symptoms of diarrhea in patients with HIV and AIDS made by Salix Pharmaceuticals Ltd.

There are also encouraging signs that the pick-up in new drug approvals could continue in 2013. The European Medicines Agency said on December 18 that it expected 54 new drug applications in 2013, up from 52 in 2012, 48 in 2011 and 34 in 2010.

(Editing by Jilian Mincer and Steve Orlofsky)

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