Recently, data from National Bureau of Statistics show that National Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) was 55.2 percent in November 2009, unchanged from the previous month. The index has been at the critical point - more than 50 percent for nine consecutive months, indicating that manufacturing economy, as a whole remains stable and an upward trend. Production index was 59.4 percent, edged up by 0.1 percentage points from the previous month, continuing at or above the critical po

The value of Hong Kong's total retail sales in October rose to 22.8 billion HK dollars, up 9.8 percent over the same month last year, statistical authority said on Tuesday. However, total retail sales in the first 10 months of the year dropped 2.2 percent in value, or 3.1 percent in volume compared with the same period last year, according to statistics released by the Census Statistics Department of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government. After netting out the effe

Sy Syms, the discount clothing retailer whose signature pitch -- "An educated consumer is our best customer" -- has endured for 35 years, died yesterday of heart failure, his company said. He was 83. Syms, born Seymour Merinsky in Brooklyn, began his apparel business in 1959 in the Financial District -- in competition with a clothing store run by his father and brother around the corner. By 1983, he'd expanded to 11 sites and taken the company public. It eventually grew to 30 stores in 1

Rural services company Elders insists its deal to sell high-end New Zealand wool carpets through major American retailer CCA Global Partners is intact, despite persistent farming-sector talk that it is far from signed and sealed. The CCA agreement is a key plank of Elders' strategy for raising the price of New Zealand wool. Like its rival Wool Partners International, it aims to reposition wool as a luxury fibre, sign exclusive supply contracts with farmers and sell direct to overseas marke

Oerlikon Textile GmbH, Germany, has reported an uptick of more than 50 percent in orders and 20 percent in sales of textile machinery and components during the third quarter of 2009 compared to the second quarter, indicating an accelerating recovery from the drastic declines seen in the first half of 2009. The increases are attributed primarily to the Oerlikon Barmag, Schlafhorst and Textile Components businesses. The company reported growth particularly in the Chinese market, as well as

China-US trade tensions have been heating before the US President's first visit to China. The timing couldn't be worse as the world sees cooperation between Beijing and Washington as crucial to nurturing the recovery of the global economy. BizChina's reporter finds out how trade disputes have escalated and how they could be prevented from bringing global consequences. The trade dispute upgraded in September when the Obama administration announced extra duties on Chinese tyres. Tensions intens

A Chinese economist has warned that the country's soaring property prices and equities were "signs of asset bubbles," owing to excessive liquidity. The Economic Information Daily reported Tuesday that Wu Jinglian, an expert with the Development Research Center of China's State Council, or Cabinet, said excessive lending and liquidity would be a long-term problem for the economy rather than liquidity shortages and weak demand. Wu, 79, was one of the first economists to promote the marke

HONG KONG, Nov. 16 (Xinhua) -- Chinese mainland-based Xtep International Holdings Limited, a growing sportswear brand, inaugurated its first flagship store for the Disney Sport products in Hong Kong on Monday. Ding Shui Po, company chairman and chief executive officer, said "certainly the next step is to explore the overseas market" given that the brand already has over 5,800 stores covering 31 provinces and provincial cities on the mainland. Established in 1999, Xtep is one of a growing

KARACHI: The continuously rising prices of cotton can hurt the local textile sector as analysts and exporters anticipate further rise in the domestic cotton prices because of active buying by the international buyers who have flocked Pakistan amid a shortfall in world cotton production. With increasing demand from international buyers domestic cotton prices will remain high in near future, analysts predicted. Domestic cotton prices have already surged by 21 percent since the start of the cur

Ninety-nine-year-old Weave Corp. of Hackensack, whose upholstery material was once used to decorate Camp David, has closed amid pressure from its lender, PNC Bank. The bank on Monday filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Newark to secure possession of the company's assets, asking the court to assign a receiver in connection with millions of dollars in loans. Court papers say the bank learned on Nov. 3 that the company — one of the last textile businesses remaining in North Jersey — had