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Mukesh Ambani and children Isha, Akash and Anant own an entire fleet of luxury cars. From Bentley, Rolls-Royce and Lamborghini, to an armoured Mercedes and a bulletproof BMW, these are the Ambanis’ most prized – and pricey – motors

The Ambani family has everything they can possibly dream of – riches, power, luxury. And, of course, such splendour includes the ultimate of all status symbols – a luxury car collection in a garage spanning more than a mile.

Mukesh Ambani with some of his cars in his garage – the first six floors of the Ambanis’ Antilla home is dedicated to cars. Photo: YouTube

The Ambani family has everything they can possibly dream of – riches, power, luxury. And, of course, such splendour includes the ultimate of all status symbols – a luxury car collection in a garage spanning more than a mile.

In case you missed it: business mogul Mukesh Ambani is India’s richest man and the 13th richest person in the world. He is chair and largest shareholder of India’s most valuable company, Reliance Industries Limited.Mukesh and his wife Nita have three children – Anant and twin brother and sister Akash and Isha – who all work in the family business. Naturally, as Asia’s wealthiest family, they live in a lavish, US$2 billion skyscraper and rub elbows with international royalty, Bollywood and Hollywood stars, music and fashion icons, and leaders in politics and business.Fittingly, the Ambani fleet of cars rivals that of other powerful and influential families around the world. In fact, the first six floors of their Antilla home is dedicated just to cars.

The Ambanis’ most pricey car is the exclusive German-customised armoured BMW 760i, valued at US$1.4 million. The registration fee for it alone cost US$251,000. The family also owns a Maybach 62, Mercedes-Benz S-Class, Bentley Flying Spur, a Rolls-Royce Phantom and more.

Here’s the story behind eight of the Ambani clan’s most prized – and pricey – motors.

1. Maybach 62, worth US$730,000

When you have everything else, only a Maybach 62 will do. Nita gave a customised version to her husband, Mukesh, on his birthday. Based on the Mercedes-Benz W140 S-Class sedan, the prized Maybach 62 can reach 249km/h (155mph). It also includes 18-way power rear seats, power side sunshades and, of course, wireless headphones.

2. Mercedes-Benz S-Guard

Another Mercedes in the Ambani fleet is the Mercedes Maybach 660 Guard, a modified, armoured version of the Maybach S600, valued at nearly US$1.5 million. Another of their armoured vehicles, this one is powered by a 6.0-litre, V12 engine, but is electronically restricted to a top speed of 190km/h (118mph). The family bought this safety vehicle in 2015, becoming the first owners in India.

3. Bentley Bentayga

In another first for India – which the Ambani family loves to do – Akash drives a bright green Bentley Bentayga. Valued at a bit more than US$1 million, this fast, midsize, five-door luxury crossover SUV can hit 301km/h (187mph).

4. Bentley Flying Spur

This US$453,000 Bentley is the new version of the Continental Flying Spur. Powered by a 6.0-litre, W12 engine, this four-door luxury saloon is a variant of the Bentley Continental GT coupé.

5. BMW 760Li

Another safety vehicle for the Ambanis, this BMW has a bulletproof coating, which cost them US$1.2 million. And if the tires get damaged (or shot out), all will be well. They are self-supporting, run-flat tires. Because when you’re worth billions, safety costs millions.

6. Rolls-Royce Phantom Drophead Coupé

This Rolls-Royce Phantom Drophead Coupé is valued at US$1.2 million and is rare – only six exist in India. The engine is powered by a 6.75-litre, V12 engine that can reach 241km/h (150mph) in five seconds. In 2015, it was the most expensive Rolls-Royce model in its class, and several Drophead Coupés were used in the closing ceremony of the London 2012 Summer Olympics.

7. Rolls-Royce Cullinan

Named after the Cullinan Diamond – the largest gem-quality rough diamond ever found – this US$980,000 Rolls-Royce Cullinan is the most expensive of its kind available in India. It’s a full-sized luxury SUV and both the first Rolls SUV and the brand’s first all-wheel-drive vehicle.

8. Lamborghini Urus

The Ambanis love their SUVs. And so it makes senses that they would own a Lamborghini Urus – another first to India. Valued at US$425,000, this special SUV is powered by a 4.0-litre twin-turbocharged engine. The unusual name is inspired by Urus (or aurochs), the ancestor of modern domestic cattle. But, cows are respected and considered sacred in India, so this special vehicle is a more than appropriate addition to family’s fleet of luxury cars.

• No more first-class travel, holidays or buying property for son of Dalian Wanda Group chairman after ruling by Shanghai court
• Decision comes after Wang loses case brought by e-sports gaming host over US$515,000 contract dispute

Wang Sicong, the son of Chinese billionaire Wang Jianlin, who was identified as having personal debts totalling US$21.6 million has also been told he must restrict any future spending to life’s necessities, according to a court report.

Issued by Shanghai Jiading District Court last month, the order came following a request by Cao Yue, an e-sports gaming host who in December last year won a lawsuit against Shanghai Panda Entertainment Co – founded by Wang Jnr – involving a 3.6 million yuan (US$515,000) contract dispute, the document said.

On Monday, the Beijing No 2 Intermediate People’s Court, named the 31-year-old Wang as being personally liable in a financial dispute involving about 151 million yuan.

Under the Shanghai ruling, Wang is banned from buying property, going on holiday, flying, travelling first class on boats and trains – including China’s high-speed rail network – staying in star-rated hotels, visiting nightclubs and playing golf.

Subject to approval by the district court, any of the restrictions may be lifted temporarily if deemed to be restrictive to Wang’s genuine business activities.

Wang is well known for flaunting his wealth and lavish lifestyle online. Just last month he made headlines in the Chinese media for posting an image of his bill from a Japanese restaurant for more than 15,000 yuan, along with a caption saying the food was the “most awful” he had eaten in years.The son of the chairman of the multinational conglomerate Dalian Wanda Group even once boasted that his pet dog – an Alaskan Malamute called Coco, which itself has more than 2 million followers on Weibo, China’s Twitter-like service – had travelled by private jet.

News of the restriction on Wang’s spending triggered a debate on Weibo as to whether he would still be allowed to use his private jet. Various posts on the subject were read 120 million times and attracted more than 7,000 comments.

But Zhang Weiwei, a lawyer from the Guangdong Xinggong Law Firm, said the answer was probably no, and it was possible that Wang’s assets would be sold to help clear his debts.

“There have been cases before of private jets being auctioned off,” he said.

在老龄化严重的日本社会，无现金支付的接受度还很低。现在，日本政府计划改变这一点，推动无现金支付。

据德国央行的一项调查，德国四分之三的零售业务依然使用现金支付。不过，偏爱现金的不只是德国人。在技术发达的日本，许多人也依然信奉”只有手中的现金才是真钱”。

现在，日本政府希望到2025年，让至少40%的支付采用无现金方式，也就是增加一倍。但即便如此，日本也远远落后于亚洲其它国家。据日本支付协会的一项数据，在韩国，无现金支付比例现已高达96%，在中国也已达到三分之二。不仅如此，据美国金融杂志《福布斯》报道，中国最早将于11月11日发行自己的加密货币，赶在脸书之前。脸书6月宣布将于明年上半年推出数字货币Libra。

对许多年龄大的日本人来说，那完全是另一个世界。一名65岁的东京女性对记者说，她对无现金支付不感兴趣。”如果手机丢了，我会觉得很难受。”此外，如果用现金，花了多少看看钱包就知道，而无现金支付让她觉得心里没数。

尽管民众中有这些顾虑，但日本电信巨头软银集团（Softbank）和电商Mecari都在大力宣传电子支付。他们的努力没有白费。软银和合作伙伴雅虎日本一道，在短短数月内就将支付应用PayPay的用户从500万提升到1500万。这也和政府的推动非不开。顾客在小商店使用PayPay支付，可以得到折扣积分。

日本人偏爱现金有很多原因：犯罪率低，人们对偷窃的担心较小；自动取款机遍布大街小巷。不过，情况也在变化，商业银行已经开始减少自动取款机的数量。对占人口总数三分之一的老年人来说，艰难的时代就要开始了。70岁的Mitsuo Kotake以卖花为生，顾客多半是老年人。他担心这些老人无法适应。”对年轻人很简单。但老年人对这些就搞不懂了。”

The European Commission has downgraded the growth forecast for the euro area, warning of “a protracted period of subdued growth and low inflation in the context of high uncertainty.”

Gross domestic product is forecast to expand by 1.1 percent in 2019 and by 1.2 percent in 2020 and 2021. This is down by 0.1 percentage points for 2019 and 0.2 percentage points for 2020 compared with its projections in July.

Bruising trade wars, a slowing global economy, and a looming Brexit have combined to hit nearly every sector of the economy, said the commission.

The European economy is in its seventh consecutive year of expansion, but the bloc now “looks to be heading towards a protracted period of more subdued growth and muted inflation.”

It added that “the external environment has become much less supportive and uncertainty is running high. This is particularly affecting the manufacturing sector, which is also experiencing structural shifts.”

According to Pierre Moscovici, commissioner for economic and financial affairs, taxation and customs: “All EU economies are set to continue expanding over the coming two years, in spite of increasingly strong headwinds.”

He said the fundamentals of the EU economy are robust as after six years of growth, unemployment in the EU is at its lowest. “But the challenging road ahead leaves no room for complacency. All policy levers will need to be used to strengthen Europe’s resilience and support growth.”

馬來西亞央行出乎意料下調法定存款準備金率0.5個百分點，降至3%，下星期六（16日）生效。 央行聲明指，下調法定存款準備金率，為了維持國內金融體系具備充足流動性，將支持國內金融市場有效運轉，並協助銀行施行有效的流動性管理。 至於央行本周二公布，維持指標利率於3厘，符合市場預期。

• In the city where part of the Crazy Rich Asians movie was filmed and where the home ownership rate stands at more than 90 per cent, a forgotten few sleep outside
• Many actually have homes but are pushed out by family conflict, co-tenant quarrels, or a simple need to be close to work

A landmark study on homelessness in Singapore has found that on any given night, between 921 and 1,050 people sleep in public spaces such as parks and unenclosed lobbies.

Most are older men who sleep rough because they cannot afford housing, want to be near their workplace or have issues with family members or housemates, among other reasons.

The study was led by assistant professor Ng Kok Hoe at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, with the help of 480 volunteers, social workers mobilised by the government, and NGOs conducting fieldwork over three months.

Of the roughly 1,000 people found sleeping rough, 191 were awake and 88 agreed to be interviewed. Six in 10 of those 88 were employed, most commonly in cleaning, odd jobs, security and retail. Those who were paid monthly earned between S$560 (US$412) and S$3,000, with the monthly median income being S$1,400 – about 60 per cent less than the $3,467 of employed Singapore residents.

The findings, presented on Friday at a public seminar, are a follow-up to a smaller survey done two years ago, when 180 people were found sleeping in public across 25 locations in Singapore, where the home ownership rate is above 90 per cent.

This year’s survey divided the country of 5.7 million people into 25 districts consisting of 298 zones. The volunteers first spent at least one night in each zone over a three-month period to count the number of people sleeping outdoors or who looked like they were about to go to bed. In all, they found 1,050 homeless people.

Second, fieldworkers visited selected sites – leaving out the zones with no homeless people found in the first count as well as roughly half of the zones where just one rough sleeper was recorded. Their visits were made in a single night during which they conducted another count and interviewed those still awake. There were 921 homeless people found in this one-night count.

Said Ng: “I was struck by how widespread homelessness is geographically, and how long it lasts for many homeless persons, despite them being in work.”

The assistant professor said the figures from the two counts were tightly correlated – the areas with higher numbers in the first count also had higher numbers in the second.

“That figures collected several months apart are related may reflect a stable geographical distribution of homelessness in Singapore,” he wrote in a paper on the findings.

In response to the study, the Ministry of Social and Family Development said it appreciated the efforts of the community, researchers and volunteers.

“Homelessness is a complex issue that often involves multiple underlying social issues. Dr Ng’s study observed many different profiles: homeless people and rough sleepers who may have their own homes, Singapore residents and foreigners,” it said.

It added that over the last two years, the ministry had partnered with community groups and government agencies to reach out to this section of the population.

“Together, we engage and refer them to shelters and help agencies, such as social service offices and family service centres, to address their longer-term issues.”

During the single-night count where volunteers came across 921 homeless people, 191 were still awake and 88 agreed to be interviewed.

Among them, just under four in 10 had housing registered in their names, while a similar proportion said they could have stayed with family, friends or at their workplaces. But they chose to sleep outside because of family conflict, not wanting to inconvenience friends, problems getting along with co-tenants, or wanting to be near the workplace.

About half of the interviewees said they had been sleeping outside for between one and five years, with a third having done so for more than six. Just under two in 10 had been outside for less than a year.

More than half said they had encountered problems – including having their belongings stolen or being asked to move, while about half said they had only had two meals that day, with a quarter only eating one, or nothing at all.

Four in 10 said they had approached government social service offices in the neighbourhood or their member of parliament for help. Eight in 10 said they still maintained contact with friends and family.

The numbers are similar to those for Hong Kong, where official figures found 1,127 registered street sleepers in the 2017-18 financial year – an increase of 51 per cent from 2013-14 – but social workers thought the figure was closer to 2,000.

Ng’s paper suggested increasing the number of sites where homeless people can seek help and for shelter services to have more flexible rules. Currently, shelters funded by the government have a limited duration of stay and require inhabitants to report to a social worker. Ng said one of the interviewees told researchers he was once placed in a welfare home for two or three weeks and “really didn’t like it”.

Harry Tan, a sociologist at the National University of Singapore who submitted a thesis on homelessness in the city state for his PhD at Australia’s Monash University, said many rough sleepers who entered welfare homes struggled with the loss of freedom it entailed.

“Once a person was admitted inside, it was difficult to leave the home compound unless it was for work purposes. For those who did not work, official permission must be sought and granted if they wanted to go out during the day,” Tan said. “The second challenge was the strict discipline in the welfare home.”

He also warned of the dangers of sleeping rough. “Just the other day one of them showed me this huge slit in the side of his bag where it was cut open and his belongings were stolen. And one woman woke up to a hot sensation on her chest only to find someone trying to burn her T-shirt. She thinks the person may have wanted to molest her.”

Ng suggested relaxing the rules for Singapore’s public housing rental scheme. Last year rental flats made up less than 6 per cent of the country’s more than 1 million public flats, and eligibility criteria for the heavily subsidised homes are strict. Applicants must form a family unit or pair up with another single applicant to secure a flat, which costs as little as S$26 a month for a studio unit for first-time applicants with a monthly income of S$800 or less.

At times, singles have found themselves sharing flats with a stranger which has given rise to quarrels and forced some to sleep in public, a problem the government has acknowledged.

“Removing the joint tenancy requirement as an immediate step will not only improve this exit path from homelessness, but will also help to realise basic standards of privacy for the poorest residents in the public housing sector,” Ng wrote, adding that low wages and job insecurity also needed to be addressed.

Ng praised the collaboration between members of the public, NGOs and the ministry in carrying out the count of the country’s homeless, saying it promoted “community ownership of the complex issue”.

“It will help challenge stereotypes about homeless people and create a safer environment for them,” he wrote.

One of the volunteers for the count was Brian Monteiro, who works on volunteer and programme management at the Catholic Welfare Services Singapore – a charity which opens up its office in Waterloo Street to those without homes to shower and use the computers. He said it was heart-warming to see so many volunteers for the count.

“I felt it was going to be a night that, hopefully, would see our people in the streets getting the respect and dignity that rightfully should be accorded to everybody,” he said.

• Modi’s shock move to abandon the RCEP trade deal has fed the cynics
• But its fans are loyal, even in the face of research suggesting its impact on GDPs will be minimal

India’s shock move this week to pull out of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) has triggered a fresh round of scoffing from cynics who for years have lampooned the trade pact’s repeated delays and low ambitions.But even as these critics complain about being “taken for a ride” by India, which negotiated hard for seven years only to jump ship at the last minute, proponents of the deal say there is still much to cheer about.

Supporters of the India-less RCEP say that while its shortcomings must be acknowledged, it is a shot in the arm for multilateralism amid the rising trend of protectionism around the world.

The 15 economies left in the RCEP – comprising the 10 Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand – this week said they had agreed on the “text-based negotiations” and would work towards signing a deal some time next year after lawyers comb through the draft agreement, and specifics on market access are settled.

They also left the door open to India, saying they would continue to work with New Delhi to settle “outstanding issues” – despite Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi telling a regional summit in Bangkok he could not agree to the deal because it would be ruinous for his country’s poor.

Singapore-based trade analyst Deborah Elms, among the handful of experts who have tracked the deal’s progress since negotiations began in 2012, said it was “understandable” but “somewhat unfortunate” that the media’s focus was on India’s exit, rather than the agreement “in principle” of the 15 countries.

“Leaders have pulled off what many believed was an impossible task – in spite of strong global headwinds, 15 Asian countries managed to agree on a significant new trade deal that will lead to new integration in the region,” Elms wrote in a commentary.

Kaewkamol Pitakdumrongkit, an assistant professor at the Centre of Multilateralism Studies in Singapore’s S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, agreed, saying “with or without India, RCEP will be the world’s biggest trading bloc when it signs next year”.

The experts conceded that from a purely statistical point of view, the 15 countries going ahead with the pact were likely to see only a minimal impact on their growth rates.In a study published in August, University of Queensland researcher Renuka Mahadevan and the Indonesia finance ministry’s Anda Nugruho forecast that China, the biggest economy of the 15, would see a minuscule 0.08 per cent bump in GDP as a result of being in an India-less RCEP in 2030.

In this scenario, Malaysia, Vietnam and South Korea would fare the best of the 15 countries, but would still see minimal growth, according to the researchers.

Had India joined the pact, it was projected to see a slight increase in GDP growth, but it is now projected to suffer a marginal fall. The researchers said India’s giant services economy – staffed by the country’s skilled professionals – needed the RCEP for expanded markets.

Edmund Sim, partner at the multinational trade and investment law firm Appleton Luff, said without the participation of the South Asian economy, “the chances of accelerated trade and investment liberalisation are better”.

Supporters of the RCEP insist they are not turning a blind eye to its deficiencies. The deal does not address issues such as intellectual property rights and the environment, or offer a clear pathway for investors to deal with disputes with member states.

The so-called investor-state dispute-settlement mechanism – almost a prerequisite in multilateral trade deals of recent times – will be put on ice for the medium term after Malaysia lobbied for such action during negotiations earlier this year.

The RCEP has often been compared to the 11-country Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, which has these provisions.

That deal, the successor to the Trans-Pacific Partnership pact the US drew up during the administration of Barack Obama and then dumped when President Donald Trump succeeded him, has its own set of problems.

Of the 11 countries that signed that deal in March last year, only seven have ratified the pact.

Peru, Malaysia, Brunei and Chile have held out.

Heng Wang, an associate professor of law focusing on economics and trade at the University of New South Wales in Australia, said the lack of a dispute-settlement mechanism would have implications “for at least the first several years”.

Firstly, it would give governments more space to regulate investment and public policy. However, it could also influence decisions by foreign investors, as it would mean they could not bring disputes against host governments.

Overall, even though “sensitive issues” had been omitted from the RCEP, “one may argue that it is better to have a set of rules, although not necessarily at a high level, for regional trade”, Heng said.

Kaewkamol, the Singapore-based researcher, said in her commentary that “economic factors alone cannot capture the whole RCEP story”.

One of the outcomes of the pact, the professor said, was that it promoted the long-vaunted concept of “Asean centrality”, the notion that the 10-nation bloc must play a pivotal role in any economic or security relations the region has with outside powers.

Kaewkamol and other analysts dismissed the common perception that the RCEP – simply because of the non-involvement of the US – was led by China.Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong underscored this, saying the deal illustrated how “Asean’s involvement as a trusted, neutral group has enabled many countries to come together and cooperate under the RCEP”.

Elms, the trade consultant, wrote in her commentary this week that the 15 countries could sign a deal as soon as February, with it coming into force “potentially as early as January 1, 2021”.

• He often flaunted his wealth on Weibo, a Chinese social media network, where he has almost 44 million followers
• In 2015, he bought two Apple Watches for his dog Coco, and posted a photo online of the malamute wearing the devices on her paws

Wang Sicong, the son of China’s former “richest man” Wang Jianlin, has been named by a Beijing court as personally liable in a financial dispute involving about 151 million yuan (US$21.6 million) in debts.

A national database for debt recovery listed Wang Sicong, 31, as an “enforced person” following a court case in the Beijing No 2 Intermediate People’s Court. The database did not identify the creditors.

The Weibo account of People’s Court Daily, a newspaper affiliated with the Supreme People’s Court, clarified that the son was not on a defaulter list and did not face travel or spending restrictions.

“The court has not yet enforced measures such as spending restrictions against Wang Sicong nor added [him] to the list of defaulters. Therefore, Wang Sicong is only an ‘enforced person’ and not a defaulter,” the Weibo post said.

Wang Sicong rose to prominence as his real estate tycoon father topped Forbes and Bloomberg Chinese rich lists between 2015 and 2017.

He often flaunted his wealth on Weibo, a Chinese social media network, where he has almost 44 million followers.

In 2015, Wang Sicong bought two Apple Watches for his dog Coco, and posted a photo online of the malamute wearing the devices on her paws.

Zhang Weiwei, a lawyer at Guangdong Xinggong Law Firm, said that being an “enforced person” meant Wang Sicong was personally liable for the 151 million yuan.

If he did not repay the debt within a certain time, the court could seize his assets, Zhang said. And if that was not enough to cover the debt, then Wang would go on a list for defaulters, which would entail travel and spending restrictions.

“From a business perspective, his reputation would be affected negatively by this case. He is now a debtor and the media has reported widely about this,” Zhang said.

Wang Sicong has been involved in various ventures, starting his own video streaming company PandaTV and investment firm Prometheus Capital. According to Tianyancha, a Chinese company register, Wang is the legal representative of 20 companies and owns stock in 32 firms.

But PandaTV filed for bankruptcy last year due to cash flow problems and Prometheus Capital’s stock was frozen by a court in Shanghai in October for three years, Tianyancha records show.

Representatives from Beijing Prometheus Capital, wholly owned by Wang Sicong, declined to comment on Friday.

Wang has not commented on the case and has restricted public access to his posts on Weibo.

On Monday, Luo Yonghao, founder of Chinese mobile phone company Smartisan, was added to a defaulters list for failing to pay debts of about 600 million yuan.

As a result, Luo cannot fly or use the high-speed rail system. He also cannot buy luxury goods or real estate.

Luo apologised online and promised to pay his debts.

Economic growth is important, but investor returns depend on more than that. In China’s case, the deepening and opening up of its financial markets are factors that will boost returns – and help it escape the middle-income trap

China’s economy stands at a key juncture. The route it takes will have a complex impact on the world’s financial markets. Reviewing the historically nuanced relationship between economies and markets helps to put this in context. 

Emerging markets’ high rates of growth are often pointed to as a key reason to buy into their stock markets, but economic growth is not the sole determinant of returns. High growth does translate into higher revenues – an important component of total returns – but fast-growing emerging markets can also see dilution.

Dilution happens when a company issues additional shares of stock, often because they need more capital to invest, zapping the value of existing investors’ shares by reducing their proportional ownership. Dilution lowers returns to investors, below what revenue growth would have suggested these stocks are worth.

The fact that growth doesn’t necessarily dictate investor returns is an interesting paradigm for Beijing, if we broadly consider the effect of China’s slowing future growth on its markets.

During 2019, China will pass a milestone in its development: its per capita gross domestic product, measured using market exchange rates, will reach US$10,000. At that mark, China will be considered a “middle-income country”.

China’s per capita GDP has doubled since 2011 and increased 10-fold since 2000. This massive improvement in the living standards of a population that exceeds 1 billion has been one of the quickest and biggest economic success stories in history.

However, in the past, once reaching this threshold, other emerging economies have seen their growth slow. Many seem to get trapped in this middle-income group – even as they continue to grow, their living standards get no closer to those enjoyed by citizens of wealthy countries.

This middle-income trap has become a hot topic among investors considering taking advantage of improving access channels to China’s financial markets: is greater exposure wise given the likely limits on China’s potential? The answer is that China is likely to escape this trap, but growth will still slow in the coming years as a result of worsening demographics and limited productivity gains.

However, just as dilution can lower total returns below what is implied by price appreciation alone, financial deepening in countries growing richer can boost returns – and there are good reasons to believe this will happen in China.

One useful measure to gauge the trajectory for China’s financial markets is the equity market capitalisation-to-GDP ratio, which tends to rise as economies develop. China’s, currently about 60 per cent, is already fairly high compared with some other economies at an equivalent stage.

However, many developed market economies, including the US but also Taiwan, have market cap-to-GDP ratios exceeding 100 per cent, implying a lot of room for growth in the Chinese equity market.

Similar dynamics are likely to play out in bond markets. The Chinese bond market today is worth US$13.2 trillion, or 100 per cent of GDP, compared with 130 per cent of GDP for the value of the US bond market.

Despite bond and stock market index inclusions, foreign ownership of China assets remains low by international standards, at 3 per cent of A-share equities and 2 per cent of bonds. By comparison, foreign investors own around 23 per cent and 24 per cent of the US equity and bond markets respectively.

As foreign owners take advantage of recently expanded access to China, their ownership will rise closer to the country’s overall share of global markets – Chinese securities make up, by market capitalisation, roughly 8 per cent of global equity markets and 13 per cent of global bond markets.

These shifts will drive structural change in China’s markets. For example, having more institutional investors in onshore equities may exert a stabilising influence on China’s equity prices – now among the emerging-market world’s most volatile, largely due to retail investors’ primacy in the market.

China’s increasing integration into the global financial system should also lead its asset market returns becoming more correlated with global markets – something that is already happening.

While China’s equity and bond markets are the world’s second largest, the investments available still do not match China’s economic heft. Amid these changing dynamics on the ground, it’s worth keeping a close eye on the difference between growth and returns.

While China is unlikely to fall into the middle-income trap, the inattentive investor may get stuck in the middle-returns trap if headline economic growth is the only factor driving his or her decision-making.

• Showman Modi invoked Gandhi as he pulled out of ‘the world’s largest trade deal’
• Did he forget to mention protectionist Hindu nationalists and the gaping trade imbalance with China?

Until this week, few people would have used the word “intrigue” in the same sentence as the “Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership”.

After all, even something touted as “the world’s largest free-trade deal” starts to lose a bit of pizazz after 28 rounds and seven years of talks.Enter Narendra Modi, India’s prime minister and a man seen by supporters and detractors alike as the ultimate showman-politician.

In a move few had expected, he announced at a summit of 16 countries involved in the deal – known as the RCEP – that India would not be signing up after all.

It was like a bubble of hype had suddenly burst. Had all gone to plan, with the involvement of both China and India, the RCEP would have covered nearly half of the world’s population and around 40 per cent of its GDP. Yet, stripped of the world’s second-most populous nation, the hubris lay bare for all to see.

It was not meant to be this way. While India has long been a holdout in the negotiations, the 10-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) bloc that conceptualised the pact in 2012 had hoped Modi was about to reveal a breakthrough in eleventh-hour talks to seal the deal.The expectation was that New Delhi would at least say it was on the same page as the other 15 countries in wanting to bring talks to a “substantial conclusion”. That was supposed to have happened this time last year, but was pushed back a year to accommodate general elections in Australia, Thailand, Indonesia, and India.

Clearly, the Indian prime minister had different plans.

POLITICAL NOUS

In the closed-door summit where he revealed his decision, Modi’s comments underlined his political nous. He crafted a message that was not only meant to placate the frustration of the other 15 leaders, but also indulged in political haymaking for his domestic audience.

The prime minister chose not to reference the nightmarish scenes the RCEP’s domestic critics had painted: of small businesses going bankrupt because of a flood of cheap mass-produced Chinese products, and of millions of dairy farmers going hungry because consumers’ heads would be turned by milk products from New Zealand and Australia.

Instead, he invoked the country’s most edifying symbol – Mahatma Gandhi.

The government said later in a public statement that it had engaged in the talks in good faith, but had no choice but to pull out as it had not secured the assurances it asked for.

Among its demands were for stronger wording on rules of origin, for the base year for the reduction of duties to be 2019 instead of 2014, and for companies investing in India to procure a certain percentage of input materials locally.

Appearing to hold out an olive branch, Piyush Goyal, the Indian trade minister, said New Delhi’s future accession to the RCEP was still possible because as with all “international engagement and relations”, the doors should “never be shut with anybody”.

But among Asean members, the mood was grim. A trade ministry official from one mid-sized country told This Week in Asia it felt it had been “taken for a ride, big time”, having witnessed New Delhi’s negotiators extract many concessions, only to drop out of the pact at the last minute.

Until the day before Modi’s announcement, India had given no indication it was about to take such a drastic step.

Negotiators from three Asean countries told This Week in Asia they were particularly frustrated because Indian officials had made fresh demands only last week, just as the other countries were working furiously to sew up loose ends. India, though, denies this account of events.

Still, at least in public, the bloc is saying India’s options are open.While the 15 countries – Asean plus China, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand and Australia – had concluded “text-based negotiations”, they acknowledged in a joint statement that they would continue working with India on outstanding issues.

China, the biggest of the 16 economies, pledged to work with New Delhi to find a way forward.

PLACATING THE SANGH PARIVAR?

Within the Indian commentariat, conversations have revolved around the merits of Modi’s sudden U-turn, the manner it was made, and whether “the talisman” of Gandhi was indeed the decisive factor.

MK Venu, a veteran political journalist, wrote that the invocation of Gandhi might have been an attempt to “hide deep structural weaknesses plaguing the economy”.

One common theory was that the heavy friendly fire the government was taking for pressing ahead with the RCEP had become too much to bear for Modi.

The trade pact’s most strident opponents came from within Modi’s Hindu nationalist ranks.

The Swadeshi Jagran Manch (SJM), the economic wing of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) – the ideological parent of Modi’s ruling party – last month staged a nationwide protest against the trade pact.

Following Monday’s developments, the group and its leaders, including the economics professor Ashwani Mahajan, have received acclaim from pro-government supporters for the campaign. Deepak Sharma, the SJM’s spokesman, said Modi’s decision was “an acknowledgement of the interests of all Indians”.

Along with Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the SJM and RSS are among the groups that form the Sangh Parivar – an umbrella term for the nation’s Hindu nationalist organisations.

Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay, an author of books on Modi and the Hindu nationalists, said the lobbying efforts by the Sangh affiliates played an important role in the prime minister’s decision.

The New Delhi-based commentator said the decision should be seen in the context of prevailing political circumstances in India: the BJP’s failure to register big wins in two state elections last month, and rising anxiety about the state of the economy.

Modi won a resounding general election victory this year, but citizens were anxious “because they don’t have money in their hands”, he said.

Compounding the problems were the lobbying by the Sangh Parivar and a last-minute salvo from the opposition party that created the impression Modi was “compromising on the Indian farmer and the Indian consumer”. That situation, coupled with the long-standing belief among Indians that “reforms are anti-poor and pro-rich”, left Modi in a tight spot when it came to the RCEP, Mukhopadhyay said.

Other analysts said the U-turn was just the latest example of the growing clout of the SJM and other Sangh Parivar affiliates.

電子支付時代來臨，人手一刷（嗶）即完成付款。不過，在德國的許多餐廳、酒吧、計程車上，依然只能現金付款，這並非特例，德國人喜歡現金付款，他們身上通常帶有足夠現金。

德國之聲報導，德國現金文化跟商家或服務機構拒絕接受卡片沒有關係，這只是德國人的心理因素。

研究德語國家高現金支付現象的商業心理學家克切勒（Erich Kirchler）表示，「掌控權是主要因素，我們不想屈就，我們要現金能提供的自主性、自由、實用性。」

根據克切勒，德國人擔心如果現金被其他支付方式取代，他們將失去對財務的掌控權。他們害怕非現金支付可能讓國家或銀行有更多控制權；另外，他們相信使用現金更能自己控制花費。

克切樂指出，德國人對現金的態度可能和國家一連串激進的歷史改變有關係。他表示，「我們對於政府有相對較高的信心，但同時我們也了解，情勢可能一夕之間改變」。

除了德國，部分國家也對無現金交易保持存疑態度。根據歐洲中央銀行，德國人平均隨身攜帶現金約103歐元（約台幣3500元），比其他歐洲人多。

德國80%交易為現金付款，義大利為86%、西班牙87%；但是在北歐國家，現金支付已經很少見、英國也很流行電子支付或信用卡交易。

甚至連倫敦街頭表演藝人也開始使用無現金交易。派翠尼（Francis Petrini）已有2年街頭表演經驗，每次表演他都會帶著讀卡機，讓民眾方便捐款或購買專輯。派翠尼表示，讀卡機確實讓他的收入增加，因為民眾時常沒有隨身攜帶現金。

人類學家史考特（Brett Scott）認為，「無現金交易社會」其實是「銀行化社會」，因為這些交易完全依賴銀行及其發展出來的系統。不過，「銀行化」雖然也在德國發生，但德國人對於大企業掌權依然較反感。

柏林11月8日 – 德国财长肖尔茨在接受Euronews采访时表示，德国尚未接近真正的衰退，但正经历一段增长放缓的时期。他补充称，解决“人为的”全球贸易紧张将有助于提振经济。

在被问及一些经济学家和政界人士呼吁德国增加支出以提振疲弱的经济时，肖尔茨表示，在就业处于纪录高位且部分行业面临产能限制的情况下，没有理由作出额外的刺激支出。

“就业人数处于历史高位，且许多领域都在寻找熟练工人，”他在周五发表的访问中表示，“我们的财政政策很具扩张性，且公共投资达到历史高位。”

纽约11月8日 – 别预期欧洲和日本实施的负利率接下来会输入至美国，因为欧日两大经济体正现实地上演央行刺激政策走岔了的戏码。

这至少是路透2020年全球投资展望峰会上基金经理及策略师们的看法。他们认为负利率造成的长期侵蚀性副作用，远远大过付钱请政府和其他大型债务人借款的好处；负利率的副作用包括惩罚储户，削弱银行业稳定性，同时会鼓励可能诱发风险的系统性金融工程操作。

拜日本及欧洲央行的政策所赐，全球约12.5万亿美元、占发达世界主权债达30%的债券目前是处于负收益率状态。这两大央行都急欲振兴经济成长及拉抬通胀。

根据贝莱德最近发表的一篇博客(部落格)文章，负利率的后果之一，就是会导致投资收益呈现负值，令老龄人口顿失所怙。

贝莱德及其他投资人表示，美国联邦储备委员会(FED/美联储)在主席鲍威尔的掌舵下，正密切关注这些风险回报失衡的状况，亟欲避免步上后尘。

“如果你仔细听鲍威尔和美联储其他代表官员的说法，他们并不想采用负利率，”PIMCO集团投资总监伊凡申(Dan Ivascyn)指出。

“它会在美联储工具清单上吊车尾，”他说。

欧洲央行及日本央行都已经采用负利率来刺激通胀及经济增长，美联储等其他主要央行还有多少弹药可抵御经济放缓，也因而引发争论。

美联储10月底宣布降息25个基点，使政策利率目标区间降至1.50%-1.75%。

美国总统特朗普呼吁美联储将利率降至负值，好让美国政府能够为22万亿美元债务再融资，并且拉长偿债时间。

但基金经理人表示，这种情况不太可能发生。

“千万别说永远不会，但美国的确不愿意将利率降至零下方，”PGIM Fixed Income的多行业和策略主管Greg Peters说。

“我认为美国得到了先看看其他地方实施负利率有什么影响的好处，”他补充说。

从过往实施负利率对刺激信贷、提振企业投资和消费者借贷支出的影响来看，这个措施成败参半。

负利率对整个收益率曲线构成下行压力，并压缩金融机构放贷业务的利润。负利率的批评人士认为，如果超低利率的长期实施对金融机构健康的损害过大，它们可能会抑制放贷活动，从而损及经济。

因为负利率可能带来的风险以及潜在政治阻力，负利率政策一直是美联储官员看淡的选项，认为它不是适宜之举。

“他们对负利率政策成本的侧重程度要大得多，”PIMCO的伊凡申表示。

资产管理公司Vanguard的全球利率和汇市策略师Anne Mathias也表示，实施负政策利率的可能性不大。

“我坚定认为，如果某个时候陷入衰退(我确信将会出现衰退)，我们只是会回到量化宽松，再次扩大资产负债表，”她说。

对Richard Bernstein Advisors LLC执行长Richard Bernstein来说，负利率意味着“痛苦的衰退。”

“事实上，我认为不会实施负利率，因为我认为我们不会走向痛苦的衰退，”他说。

DoubleLine Total Return Bond Fund (DBLTX.O)的联席投资组合经理Andrew Hsu对负利率的副作用发出警告。

“如果未来10-20年我们实行负利率…这个房间里的人将没人可以退休，”他说。

“在美国可以避免的范围内，我认为它肯定会尝试，但代价是什么？你愿意经历非常严重的衰退吗？我们将拭目以待，”Hsu表示。

贝莱德(Blackrock)(BLK.N)全球固定收益首席投资官Rick Rieder表示，他认为美联储不会采行负利率。

“我想，如果这样做国会将让他们不好过。全球都在讨论负利率如何不起作用。”

依赖零利率或负利率将“适得其反，因为这样可能会导致市场情绪崩溃，同时家庭储蓄率上升”，Rieder在最近发布的博客文章中称。

“在企业领域，负利率刺激了过剩的杠杆和金融工程，并让僵屍企业在一个已经供应充足的体系中继续存活。”

纽约11月8日 – 市场分析师表示，随着价值股的上涨，受挫的美国小型企业股将蓄势待发，不过，小型股可能很快地因经济遇挫而再次下跌。

2019年的多数时候，罗素2000小型股指数的表现都落后于指标标普500指数.SPX，而且尚未脱离在去年12月确认的熊市。

不过，本季迄今，罗素2000小型股指数已上涨4.6%，表现优于标普500指数的上涨3.6%。罗素指数的表现与标普500价值股指数亦步亦趋，后者本季迄今涨幅达5.2%，高于标普500成长股指数同期涨幅2.3%。

对经济的信心有所提升，已促使一些投资人重新考虑价值股和小型股中一些表现欠佳的个股。价值股通常是对经济敏感的类股，像是金融和能源股。小型股比起大型股，往往更加专注国内业务，通常会随着投资人对美国经济的看法而起舞。

指标10年期美国公债收益率已大幅高于9月初的低点，反映对经济的乐观情绪升温，三个月期美国国库券与10年期美债的收益率曲线已趋于陡峭。这导致部分投资者认为美国小型股将上涨。

特别是金融股的表现有改善，因收益率上升可能有助于提振小型股。金融股在罗素2000指数中占20%，而在标普500指数中占比为13%。

“收益率上升告诉我们经济在走强，”位于达拉斯的Hodges Capital Management资深副总裁兼投资组合经理Gary Bradshaw说。“(鉴于)市场热点轮换至价值题材，表现落后于大型股的小型股肯定可以追赶上来。”

Bradshaw表示，近几个月他所在的Hodges增持了小型价值股的仓位，比如石油天然气公司Matador Resources (MTDR.N)和Parsley Energy(PE.N)，以及拥有Chili’s连锁餐厅的Brinker International(EAT.N)。

尽管部分市场分析师对大型价值股能否维持市场主导地位持怀疑态度，但小型企业的获利环境改善或可提振他们的股价。

RBC Capital Markets纽约的美国股市策略主管Lori Calvasina表示，今年早些时候，小型股公司的获利增长速度逊于大型股公司，偏离了通常的模式。

“投资人喜欢小型股，因为较长期而言它们能带来优异的获利增长，”她说。“年初时根据这些数据，并不能很确定，但现在我们再看这些数据，会发现正常的模式已经恢复。”

不过，小型股的前景高度依赖美国经济数据，而数据显示经济增长放缓。比如，备受关注的美国供应管理协会(ISM)制造业指数显示，美国工厂活动已经连续三个月萎缩。如果中美达成贸易协议，或许能提振制造业和工业部门的指标，但也只是暂时性的。

下周即将公布美国10月工业生产、零售销售数据，以及全美独立企业联盟(NFIB)月度小企业信心指数等数据。

“如果没有达成贸易协议，而且有更多迹象显示美国经济愈发疲弱的话，小型股将受到重创，”Jefferies驻纽约股市策略师Steven DeSanctis表示。“但我看到(经济)增长保持得很好。”

2019/11/08

11月7日，日本经济新闻社在东京举行了2019年“Suits Of The Year”颁奖仪式。麦当劳日本控股的社长兼首席执行官（CEO）卡萨瓦尔（Sarah L.Casanova）获得商业奖，还有其他6人分别获奖。2018年的获奖者、全家公司社长泽田贵司也参加了颁奖仪式之后的聚会，与获奖者们进行了恳谈。

该奖用于表彰以“身穿西装发起挑战”为理念的人士，2019年是第二届。由日经电子版《NIKKEI STYLE Men’s Fashion》与世界文化社的男性商务时尚杂志《MEN’S EX》联合举办。

各奖项的其他获奖者名单如下。

商业奖　VISITS Technologies公司CEO松本胜

创新奖　日本国立天文台水泽VLBI观测所教授、所长本间希树

艺术与文化奖　演员草刈正雄，盆栽师平尾成志

特别奖　原橄榄球日本代表队队长广濑俊朗

卡萨瓦尔在获奖感言中说道：“作为第一位女性获奖者，我感到十分荣幸和高兴。一穿上西装，就会充满自信”。

2019/11/08

国际货币基金组织（IMF）总裁克里斯塔利娜·格奥尔基耶娃11月7日在华盛顿发表演讲，表示世界公共部门和民间部门的债务合计达到188万亿美元，创出了历史新高。这一金额相当于世界国内生产总值（GDP）的约2.3倍。格奥尔基耶娃指出，更加需要确保债务的可持续性和透明性，呼吁加强风险管理。

克里斯塔利娜·格奥尔基耶娃强调称，银行贷款有助于企业的新投资，正在发挥“为将来的繁荣撒下种子”的重要作用。另一方面，她还分析称，随着债务膨胀，政府、企业和家庭面对利率迅速上升“正变得脆弱”。日美欧等中央银行的货币宽松导致利率下降，容易借钱的情况成为债务扩大的背景。

瑞银和罗兵咸永道周五发表报告显示，全球亿万富豪的财富在经历五年增长后于2018年首次下滑，受美元走强及各地股市波动影响。

据最新一份亿万富豪报告显示，截至2018年底为止的五年间，亿万富豪的财富增加34.5%至合共8.5万亿美元，较五年前高出2.2万亿美元；同期有589名个人跻身亿万富豪行列，令人数增加38.9%至2,101人。

但单是2018年，亿万富豪的财富下跌了4.3%。瑞银财富管理超高净值客户部主管Josef Stadler表示，“美元走强，加上各地股市在艰巨的地缘政治环境下日趋不明朗，因此财富出现下滑。”

纵观亚洲，区内的亿万富豪的财富在五年间增加了差不多三倍。然而，受到中国增长减慢及美国加息影响，2018年底的亚太区财富为2.5万亿美元，下跌了2,176亿美元。区内的亿万富豪人数则减少7.4%至754人。

中国企业家在过去五年间跃升为全球第二大的亿万富豪群体，超越了俄罗斯，他们的财富增加了两倍，在2018年达到9,824亿美元。中国有325名亿万富豪，占亚太区总数的43%。

但在2018年，中国亿万富豪的财富下跌了12.3%；中国的亿万富豪亦减少48人至325人。

罗兵咸永道香港金融服务合伙人陈谢佩儿指出，亚太区仍是全球拥有最多名亿万富豪的地区，其中，中国大陆及香港在2018年新增的亿万富豪数量，比整个美洲还要多。在中国，新晋的亿万富豪均为白手兴家及来自广泛类型的行业，并以科技及零售为主。

11月4日-8日当周中国金融市场摘要:

汇市:

–人民币兑美元CNY=CFXS连续第五周上涨，当周大涨0.7%，创四个半月以来最大单周涨幅。得益于中美同意取消部分加征关税作为分阶段的谈判成果，这一超预期的表态明显提振人民币多头人气，离、在岸人民币时隔三个月升回7元关口，7元魔咒被消化，人民币汇率弹性进一步上升；不过由于中美仍未签署协议，不确定性仍在，仍需警惕最终变盘可能性。

公开市场操作:

–中国央行公开市场周二近等量续做4,000亿元人民币一年期中期借贷便利（MLF），并时隔逾三年半意外小幅下调利率5个基点。继美联储再次降息后，央行顺势调降MLF利率，助力降低实体企业融资成本提振经济，表明在稳增长和稳物价之间，央行更偏向稳增长。

而由于月初银行体系流动性总量处于较高水平，央行当周逆回购操作仍按兵不动；至此央行公开市场已连续第10日无逆回购操作。据此计算，包括MLF在内，公开市场当周全口径净回笼35亿元。

分析人士并认为，此次央行MLF操作打消了市场对货币政策或将从紧的担忧，但出于通胀压力的考量，央行此次降息力度相对有限，预计未来MLF利率仍有下调空间，而本月贷款市场报价利率（LPR）下行料是板上钉钉。

债市:

–中国债市当周震荡整理。在经历央行意外下调MLF利率、中美同意分阶段取消加征关税等多空消息扰动后，主要现券最新收益率基本与上周收市水平接近。如果贸易谈判没有新的进展，周末将公布的10月CPI等数据暂时成为关注重点。

票据：

–中国票据市场转贴利率当周小幅下行，自周初回落10个基点（bp）左右。交易员称，中美贸易谈判虽有阶段进展，但短期对提振实体经济作用有限。临近年末，企业信贷需求有限，银行放贷压力较大，仍需票据填充信贷规模，收票需求不减。预计转贴率将维持低位徘徊。

他们并指出，短期银行资金成本维持高位，与票据利率倒挂严重，持票浮亏对收票热情有所抑制。本周中期借贷便利（MLF）利率下调后，中长期资金价格下降预期升温，部分银行暂观望以待资金利率走低。

股市:

–中国股市当周仍难改盘局，沪综指.SSEC全周微升0.2%。中美贸易谈判不断传出乐观信号继续支撑大盘，周二央行意外下调MLF利率一度提振市场信心，沪综指再度升破3,000点，但上档压力依旧沉重，股指在3,000点上方仅短暂停留又震荡回落。

周四贸易谈判再传利好消息，中美官员表示双方若达成第一阶段贸易协议，将取消对彼此加征的关税；不过随后又传出美国政府内部对此分歧较大的消息，一定程度上冲淡了乐观预期，股市周五高开后震荡走低，显示当前市场人气依旧不足。

考虑到猪肉价格上涨引发的通胀压力未消，经济基本面又缺乏有效回暖动力，料股指向上突破难度较大，短期延续僵持局面。

东京11月8日 – 日本9月所有家庭支出创有可比数据以来最快同比增速，因消费者赶在消费税上调前购物；不过税率调高在未来几个月是否会挤压国内需求，恐怕才是经济面临的考验。

政府周五公布的数据显示，9月所有家庭支出较上年同期上升9.5%，创2001年有可比数据以来最快增速，且高于分析师预估中值的上升7.8%。

这是所有家庭支出连续第10个月增加，创2001年以来最长连续上涨。

2014年3月，也就是前次消费税上调之前的一个月，支出上升7.2%，但调高消费税随后导致消费者支出放缓，经济严重低迷。

9月家庭支出较前月增加5.5%，预估中值为增加3.8%。

“我们预计，消费税上调前的增长过后，10-12月消费者支出将转淡，预计经济也将萎缩，”第一生命经济研究所首席分析师新家义贵称。

新家义贵认为，经过当前季度预期中的回落之后，明年第一季度消费者支出和经济将复苏，但围绕经济前景的担忧犹存。

“虽然政府采取措施缓解消费税上调的冲击，但消费者信心持续低迷。尽管出口恶化似乎有所缓和，但我们仍需对出口前景保持谨慎，对经济风险同样需要谨慎。”

日本10月1日起实施已经两次推迟的消费税从8%上调至10%的计划，此举被认为对于修复日本财政状况至关重要，但也可能抑制消费者信心，令经济陷入衰退。

政府已经通过发放消费券和提供税项减免来减轻消费者的负担，吸取了2014年增税的教训。

薪资增长乏力引发了围绕民间支出和经济前景的担忧，迄今强劲的内需仅部分抵消了全球需求低迷的影响。

虽然另一项数据显示，日本9月经通胀调整的实质薪资九个月来首次上升，但10月1日上调消费税和全球放缓令前景蒙阴。

周三公布的一项路透调查显示，日本经济7-9月份料连续第四个季度增长，因内需稳健，消费者纷纷赶在消费税上调之前加速消费。

但分析师预期，随着消费税上调的影响逐渐显现，日本经济有可能在第四季陷入萎缩。

日本央行上周维持货币政策不变，但微调了前瞻性指引，称将维持超低利率，必要时甚至会降息。

US researchers have identified the first new strain of HIV since the year 2000, further expanding our knowledge of the extraordinarily complex virus.

The newly discovered substrain falls within the same type behind the global HIV pandemic that kicked off in 1981. In order for a new subtype to be declared, at least three cases must be detected and verified independently of each other. 

In this instance, the first two were discovered in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 1983 and 1990 respectively. The third sample was found later in 2001 as part of a study targeting mother-to-child transmission of the disease.

“There’s no reason to panic or even to worry about it a little bit,” Dr Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said. “Not a lot of people are infected with this. This is an outlier.”

Scientists began studying this third sample in order to map it and provide thorough evidence for a third strain, in a process described as being “like searching for a needle in a haystack,” and then “pulling the needle out with a magnet.”

It is as yet unclear whether this subtype acts differently from other subtypes of the virus but current treatments can fight this new strain so there is no major cause for concern, it is merely another step in finding a cure for the disease.

“This discovery reminds us that to end the HIV pandemic, we must continue to outthink this continuously changing virus and use the latest advancements in technology and resources to monitor its evolution,” said the study’s co-author Dr Carole McArthur from the University of Missouri, Kansas City.

At present, more than 37 million people live with HIV worldwide, the most on record, with some 1.8 million new infections diagnosed in 2016 alone. 

However, Michael Worobey, head of the department of ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of Arizona says the latest revelation is actually not that big of a deal given that the new subtype belongs to the most common form of HIV which accounts for roughly 90 percent of all cases. 

“It’s actually misleading to describe genetic diversity from the [Democratic Republic of] Congo as a new subtype because the only useful meaning of the term ‘subtype’ would come from identification of a lineage of the virus that has spread significantly beyond Central Africa,” he said.

欧盟上调土耳其2019经济增长预测。

欧盟委员会发布了《 2019年秋季经济预测报告》。

据上述报告，土耳其2019年经济增长预测从2.3％上调了0.3％，土耳其2020年经济增长预测为3.1％，2021年增长预测为3.5％。

在该报告中值得关注的是，土耳其的经济自去年货币危机后，因出台的财政鼓励政策及出口额的增加，比预期更快地得以恢复。

报告中指出，欧元区对2019年和2020年的增长预测与上一份报告相比却有所降低。

在上一份报告中指出，欧元区2019年经济增长预测为1.2，2020年增长为1.5，而在最后一份报告中，2019年增长预测却降至1.1，2020年降至1.2。

预计2021年的经济增长为1.2％。

报告中指出，欧盟经济增长预测2019年，2020年和2021年为1.4％。

报告中表示，2019年增长率德国为0.4％，法国为1.3％，英国为1.3％，意大利为0.1％，西班牙1.9％，荷兰为1.7%，希腊为1.8％。

数据显示，去年韩国平均每天都会有38家新的咖啡店开业。

KB金融控股经营研究所11月6日发布的《咖啡店现状与市场条件分析》报告显示，韩国的咖啡店创业数量从2008年的不到3000家大幅上升到去年的1.4万家。比起退休后创业首选店铺种类——炸鸡店(6200家)，咖啡店的增长速度快了两倍。今年7月，全国正在营业的咖啡店共有7.1万家，预计很快就会超过炸鸡店的8万多家店铺数量。

在全韩国245个市、郡、区中，咖啡店最集中的地方是“胡同咖啡厅”云集的首尔江南区(1739家)，其后依次是庆南昌原(1420家)、京畿水原(1321家)、京畿城南(1278家)等。

从平均每1000名人口拥有的咖啡店数量来看，首尔中区(8.8家)最多，其后依次是大邱中区(7.68家)和釜山中区(6.30家)。

晓星集团会长赵显俊正在增加全球现场经营的步伐。6日(当地时间)，他在墨西哥墨西哥城总统府会见了墨西哥总统安德烈斯•曼努埃尔•洛佩斯•奥夫拉多尔，讨论了合作方案。

赵会长当天对奥夫拉多尔总统给予墨西哥政府参与“农村自动存取款机(ATM)项目”等大规模项目的机会表示感谢。赵会长说，“此次项目将使晓星集团超越旨在创造收益的商业层面，成为践行企业社会责任的重要机遇。将尽最大努力提高墨西哥贫困人口的生活质量，加强福利传递体系建设。”

晓星集团的信息技术子公司晓星TNS最近承建的“农村ATM项目”是墨西哥大型福利项目的一部分。这项工程将使墨西哥的福利受惠者能够利用福利卡直接在ATM机上提取现金。据悉，从去年年初开始，为了签订ATM供货合同，赵会长冲在第一线进行阵前指挥。晓星相关负责人介绍，“晓星TNS预计在明年年底前交付8000台ATM机，在墨西哥境内ATM机的市场份额将从现有的2%扩大至15%。”

接着，赵会长还表示要积极参与新再生能源事业。另外，赵会长还向公认的棒球迷奥夫拉多尔总统赠送了印有美国职棒大联盟得克萨斯游骑兵队秋信守选手签名的棒球球棒。

为环境减少浪费：加拿大人越来越喜欢二手货

在加拿大，“二手货” 市场不断增长，旧货买卖越来越兴隆。

根据魁北克大学蒙特利尔分校（UQAM）的一项研究，2018年，加拿大全国的二手货交易占国内生产总值（GDP）的1.23％，总计 273 亿加元。

调查显示，加拿大人有 80% 每年参与二手货交易，去年平均每人买或卖的商品多达 82 种. 并使每人的口袋里多了 1533 加元。

买卖二手货的人并不穷

魁大 UQAM 的教授、该研究负责人之一法比安·杜立夫（Fabien Durif）说，二手货市场的兴隆一个是非常有意思的社会现象，过去人们大多以为买卖二手货的都是经济拮据的人，但实际情况并不如此。

他指出，与人们的老观念相反，有 35％进行二手货交易的人，自己的工作年收入超过 80,000 加元。

大品牌进入二手货市场

与此同时，一些大的品牌现在也在其商店中提供二手产品。

法国的鞋业公司埃拉姆（Eram）就是这种情况，该公司目前正在把一些二手鞋收回来，送到工厂进行修理和“翻新”，然后在商店里以半价转售。

宜家 IKEA 也设立了 “转售” 项目，使宜家的旧物品可以重获新生，客户可以把不要的旧商品带回商店，换取商店的积分，这些旧物品的转售也获得了一定成功。

年轻人新潮流

上述研究报告说，二手产品交易的数量在过去 5 年内增长了 8％，45 岁以下的群体是最活跃的二手货用户，有些人每年买卖多达500多件二手商品。

魁北克省的 25 岁居民薇姬·佩耶（Vicky Payeur）就是其中一位。

2015年，她做了个决定，决定摆脱自己过度消费、欠下债务的漩涡。

她说，当时我经常买新衣服，信贷账户上有大约10,000加元的债务，我决定改变自己的生活方式，出售自己不用的东西，结果，一下子就卖出去 80％ 的二手货，获得了接近一万加元的收入。

今天，薇姬·佩耶的家具中，有 25％ 是二手家具，衣服中一半是二手货。

她说，家具的交易，她主要通过 Kijiji 和 Facebook Marketplace 两个平台，交易二手衣服，她使用的是 Shwap-club 平台，这是一个用户制的时尚服装交换平台。

环保意识

随着环保意识的加强，人们越来越希望减少浪费，许多人说，参与二手货交易是为保护社区、保护生态作出的举动。

在加拿大，二手货交易最活跃的省份是阿尔伯塔省，92%的人参与二手货交易，其次是 BC 省和平原省份：85%， 安大略省的参与率为 83%，大西洋沿岸省份 64%，魁北克省最低，参与二手货的人口比例是 63%。

在二手货交易中，人们买卖最多的是服装鞋子，占 30%，其次是娱乐物品，占 13%，婴儿用品占 8%，家具占 5%。

魁大教授法比安·杜立夫（Fabien Durif）说，随着人们对气候问题的关注，二手货经济将会继续增长。

他接着说，增加产品的使用寿命，增加产品的可维修性，以及消费者的意识转变都是推动二手货经济的主要因素。

新加坡报业控股房地产投资信托（SPH REIT）将以6亿7000万澳元（6亿3650万新元）收购南澳大利亚最大的购物中心——韦斯特菲尔德马里昂购物中心（Westfield Marion Shopping Centre）的50％股权。

信托是通过独资子公司Marion Sub Trust进行收购，卖方是Lendlease Real Estate Investments公司。

这也是信托在澳洲进行的第二项收购，它去年底收购新南威尔士州卧龙岗市（Wollongong）的Figtree Grove购物中心的85.0％股权，收购价1亿7510万澳元。

信托昨天闭市后发表文告说，这项收购预期在年底完成。届时，购物中心目前的联合业主森特瑞集团（Scentre Group）将会是信托的合资伙伴。森特瑞集团是澳洲最大的零售房地产投资信托，在澳洲和新西兰拥有和经营Westfield品牌，在41个生活中心（Living Centres）持有权益，涵盖1万1500个店面，所管理的资产总值546亿澳元。

韦斯特菲尔德马里昂购物中心位于南澳阿德莱德市的奥克兰公园（Oaklands Park），是南澳最大而且唯一的超级区域购物中心，总可租用楼面150万平方英尺。这是一个永久地契房地产，地段面积约250万平方英尺，处于阿德莱德中央商业区西南方约10公里的战略位置。

可租用楼面150万平方英尺 每年吸引访客1350万人次

文告说，该购物中心售卖各种各样的产品，娱乐、新鲜食品和用餐区划分良好，每年能够吸引1350万访客人次。购物中心有99.3％的良好租用率，以总可租用楼面计算，加权平均租赁期（WALE）为6.7年，以收入计算则是4.2年，并且有高素质的租户群，包括David Jones、Myer、Target、Kmart、Coles、Woolworths等澳洲主要零售商。

此外，购物中心所处位置交通四通八达，以三条主要大道和主干公路围绕为界，方便住在更远处的顾客前来光顾。它毗邻奥克兰火车站旁，通过多条铁路线连接到阿德莱德中央商业区和南部海岸线。

文告也说，这项收购符合报业控股房产信托收购亚太零售房地产的策略，能与现有的优质资产组合相辅相成。它将为信托的单位持有者提供稳定派息、长期可持续增长的派息收入和每单位派息，同时维持适合的资本结构。

信托将利用早前发行3亿元永久证券的所得来资助这项收购，并可能视市场情况进行股权融资。

报业控股房地产投资信托管理公司总裁练美英说，这项收购深化报业控股房产信托在澳洲的业务，并增进信托回报的可持续性和弹性。

森特瑞集团总裁彼得·艾伦（Peter Allen）指出，这个购物中心是南澳领先的生活中心，有长期的发展潜能，他期待在报业控股房产信托成为合资伙伴后，推进中心的下一阶段发展计划。

报业控股房地产投资信托周四跌0.87％，收报1.14元。

2019年墨尔本杯赛马昨天（11月5日）刚刚落下帷幕，赛马“信誓旦旦”（Vow And Declare）最终夺冠。赛马作为一项专业运动有着自成体系的一套术语，今天我们就来简单地做一个盘点。

赛马参与者

每一年，墨尔本弗莱明顿赛马场都会在墨尔本杯这一天热闹非凡，人们都会盛装出席（dressed to the nines），还有马迷一早前去排头位抢占最佳位置观看赛马。这一赛马嘉年华汇集了体育、时尚、美食、商业和社交等澳大利亚的顶级元素。那么，出席这一盛事的人都有哪些呢？

• Jockey 骑师在赛事中骑马的人
• Trainer 训马师训练马匹参加赛马的人
• Punter 赌马者下注赌马的人
• Owner 马主赛马的主人
• Attendees 观众参加墨尔本杯嘉年华的人

赌马方式

“墨尔本杯”无疑是澳大利亚最受欢迎的赛马盛事。随便到哪一家本地小酒馆，可能都会听到关于赌马的各种独到意见。人们会捧着一本Form guide（赌马指南，即提供赌马的各种知识和教授如何投注的手册）认真研读，有的人会说，要选哪几匹马下注“Trifecta”，哪几匹马不能投注“First Four”。如果从来没赌过马，那么很有可能也不会知道“place bet”和“win bet”的区别。不过不用担心，我们在下面会细细说来。

• Win bet：是指把赌注押在你认为会跑第一的马。这种投注方式的胜算相较其他方式较低，但回报丰厚。
• Place bet：是指把赌注押在你认为能跑前三名的马。只要投注的马跑了前三名，就可以获得回报，当然奖金回报没有win bet高。

除了以上两种选一匹马的投注方式外，赌马者还可以选跑赢前几名的马，并且可以进行复式投注，即可以选多匹马，方式包括如下等几种：

• Quinella/Exacta: Quinella bet和Exacta bet都是指Quinella bet不区分跑第一名和第二名的顺序，而Exacta bet则必须对号入座。我们从“exact”这个词根也可以猜出它的意思。

注意：在选马下注时，可以选多匹马，但每增加一匹马，奖金的额度就会减少。

• Duet: 也是下注两匹马，但赌的是进前三名，次序不重要。
• Trifecta ：从“tri”这个前缀，我们可以得知这个词和“3”有关，即选跑前三名的马。
• First four：顾名思义，是选跑赢前四名的马，次序要正确。赌赢的胜算自然比“Trifecta”还有低一些，但奖金回报可能非常地高。
• Sweep 凑份赌马：出于娱乐目的，多个人每人出同等数量的钱随机选马的一种投注方式，多见于办公室同事间集体押注赌马。

墨尔本杯之是是非非

虽然墨尔本杯号称是“让举国上下为之停下脚步”的赛事，但也有人称之为“让举国决裂的赛事”（the race divides the nation）。很多人认为这样的赛事对于赛马是非常不人道的。因为按照马匹的不同分类，有的公马要被阉割（gelding）参加赛马角逐，而在比赛中受伤的马或退役的马可能就会在赛后面临被宰杀的命运。很多名人也在社交媒体上在#Nuptothecup话题标签下发声。

• Euthanasia安乐死在比赛中受伤的马会被处以安乐死
• #Nuptothecup话题标签抵制墨尔本杯而发起的社交媒体运动

赛马的种类

• Foal 小马驹不超过一周岁的小马
• Weanling 断奶马一般指半岁至一岁之间，刚刚断奶的小马驹
• Yearling 周岁马介于一岁和两岁之间的雄马驹
• Filly 母马驹
  不超过3岁的母马
• Mare 母马满4岁的母马
• Gelding 阉马被阉割的公马
• Stallion 种公马
  用于配种的公马
• Dam 种母马生下马驹的母马
• Sire 种公马
  育有马驹的公马

Evergrande and Dalian Wanda bosses suffer negative wealth effect among billionaire developers in Hurun Rich List

China’s richest builder Hui Ka-yan, the boss of Evergrande, suffered the biggest setback among the nation’s top 10 property moguls after policymakers tightened the screw on the industry to curb speculations. Second-ranked Yang Huiyan retained her position as richest woman in the latest Hurun Report.

Hui’s net worth shrank by 45 billion yuan (US$6.37 billion), or 21 per cent, to 170 billion yuan on August 15 from a year ago, according to the Hurun Property Rich List 2019 released on Wednesday. Hui, also known by his Chinese name of Xu Jiayin, has seen his fortunes eroded over the past two years as Evergrande took a beating on the stock market amid a financing squeeze on developers.

Shares of Evergrande, China’s third-largest home builder by sales, tumbled by 22 per cent this year through October 30, according to Bloomberg data, while an index tracking property stocks within the Hang Seng Index rose 3.1 per cent on average.

Dalian Wanda, controlled by Wang Jianlin, wasn’t spared either. His closely held property and entertainment group has stumbled in recent months after an aggressive expansion at home and abroad backfired, forcing it to trim assets to ease debt burden. Wang’s personal worth fell by 8 per cent to 60 billion yuan over the coverage period, according to the Hurun Report. His ranking slipped three rungs to sixth.

The Communist Party’s Politburo, the top decision-making body, warned in July against using property as a tool to stimulate the economy in the short-run even as growth was headed for its slowest on record. In addition, regulators in May banned direct financing to developers which have not secured necessary approvals to start construction. The restriction was later widened to include indirect financing through equity and bond markets.

Notwithstanding the duo’s negative wealth effect, the nation’s 10 richest moguls on the Hurun list still produced a combined gain in the 12-month period to August 15. Their combined wealth rose 8.3 per cent to 779.5 billion yuan from a year earlier.

Yang’s fortune surged 19 per cent to 160 billion yuan. The daughter of Yeung Kwok-keung, founder of Country Garden, was appointed as co-chairperson of China’s No 1 home builder in December. Wu yajun, founder and chairwoman of Longfor Group, climbed three levels to third spot on the Hurun list this year, with 70 billion yuan of worth.

• Qin Yinglin, chairman of Muyuan Foodstuff, almost quadrupled his wealth to US$16.6 billion, as China’s pork crisis has sent the company’s shares through the roof
• Jack Ma, former chairman of Alibaba Group Holding, once again topped the Forbes list with a net worth of US$38.2 billion

China’s richest 400 people got a lot richer this year. The ongoing US-China trade war and the country’s slowing economic growth hardly had any effect as their combined wealth grew by nearly 22 per cent to US$1.29 trillion from US$1.06 trillion last year, according to Forbes Asia.

More than half of the tycoons on the list saw their fortunes rise this year, with those involved in consumer-focused industries racking up large gains.

The total wealth of the richest top 10 rose from US$214.7 billion in 2018, a year which saw significant declines in net worth, to US$246 billion this year.

The threshold for making the top 400 was US$1 billion, up from US$840 million last year.

The top 10 richest people in China saw their total wealth climb US$31.3 billion as China’s economy refocuses on consumer spending

Name	Net Worth (November 2019)	Industry
Jack Ma	US$38.2 billion	E-commerce
Pony Ma Huateng	US$36 billion	Internet/E-commerce
Hui Kayan	US$27.7 billion	Property
Sun Piaoyang	US$25.8 billion	Pharmaceuticals
Yang Huiyan	US$23.9 billion	Property
He Xiangjian	US$23.2 billion	Appliances
Colin Huang	US$21.2 billion	E-commerce
William Ding	US$17.2 billion	Online gaming
Qin Yinglin	US$16.6 billion	Pig farming
Zhang Yiming	US$16.2 billion	Online media

Topping the list once again was Jack Ma, former chairman of Alibaba Group Holding, whose net worth climbed to US$38.2 billion from US$34.6 billion last year, as New York-listed Alibaba gained on China’s continuing e-commerce boom. Alibaba owns the South China Morning Post.

Pony Ma Huateng, founder of Alibaba’s top internet rival Tencent Holdings, came in at No. 2 with US$36 billion.

E-commerce continues to drive the fortunes of China’s richest.

Colin Huang, chief executive of Pinduoduo, saw his net worth rise to US$21.2 billion this year from US$11.25 billion last year as its share price has risen in the past year from US$18 per share to over US$43. This is despite China’s third largest e-commerce company continuing to generate losses.

Tycoons whose companies provide services related to e-commerce, such as Lai Meisong, chief executive of Alibaba-backed express delivery firm ZTO, also did well. Lai’s net worth grew more than US$1.2 billion to US$4.6 billion.Anta Sports, a shoe company based in Jinjiang, China’s shoe capital, has minted four billionaires alone. Founders and brothers Ding Shizhong and Ding Shijia, were ranked 53 and 56, respectively, as the share price of Hong Kong listed Anta has more than doubled since last year, yielding them fortunes of US$5.6 billion and US$5.5 billion. Two Anta executives, chief financial officer Lai Shixian, a Ding brother-in-law, and Wang Wenmo, a cousin, also made the billionaire list.

David Wang, head of China economics for Credit Suisse, noted that an increasing number of billionaires were from the consumer services sector.

“China’s economy is transitioning towards a consumption-driven economy, specifically towards service consumption. Hence, any company that can enhance consumer experience would enjoy a comparative advantage,” Wang said.

China’s stalled car market, the world’s largest, hit the personal wealth of Geely Group chairman and owner of Volvo, Li Shufu. His net worth dropped from US$14.2 billion to US$12.9 billion, taking him out of the top 10.

China’s pork crisis, brought on by African Swine Fever, which has decimated the world’s largest pig population and driven up the prices of the meat in the world’s largest consuming nation, has been good for Qin Yinglin.

The chairman of Muyuan Foodstuff, which trades in pigs, has seen his net worth climb from US$4.2 billion in March to US$16.6 billion in October, thanks to the meteoric rise of Muyuan shares. Since the start of 2019, Muyuan’s Shanghai-listed shares have more than tripled to 96 yuan, from 29 yuan.

• Beijing has decided that the Chinese economy needs to reduce reliance on real estate industry, says Sun Hongbin, majority stockholder in Sunac
• Current property market controls are unlikely to be relaxed in near future, Sun says

The Chinese government is unlikely to ease its controls over the domestic property market, so developers should consider branching out into other industries, according to billionaire real estate tycoon Sun Hongbin.

“Moving the economy away from relying too much on real estate is highly political and it is the country’s choice for a long-term strategy. We must understand this adjustment,” said Sun, the founder and chairman of Hong Kong-listed property developer Sunac, in a speech in Beijing on November 5 and published on Wednesday in local media.

“Many people think that the pressure [on the housing market] is so big now, when will they ease? I say it is unlikely [that they will do so],” he added.The speech by Sun, who was ranked at No 20 on Forbes’ China rich list this year with an estimated net worth of US$10 billion, highlights the dilemma facing China’s real estate industry given the government’s increasingly heavy-handed approach to managing the housing market and the economy. Beijing and local governments have sought to crack down on speculation in the real estate market and hold the rise in housing prices by introducing a series of measures such as tightening funds flowing into the sector, restricting property sales to local residents, increasing down payment requirements and putting price caps on new houses.

For real estate companies, this control [from Beijing] must not be regarded as short-term, it is for the long-term – and it is a national strategySun Hongbin

While the downward pressure on Chinese growth is likely to grow in coming years, Beijing is unlikely to make a U-turn in its strategy to take the steps necessary to achieve “high-quality growth”, Sun said.

“For real estate companies, this control [from Beijing] must not be regarded as short-term, it is for the long-term – and it is a national strategy,” Sun stressed.

“Economic growth does not need to be so high, 4 per cent is quite good, this industry [real estate] is too important, but it takes up too much [in the way of resources],” Sun said. “In addition, the pillar of the general secretary’s [Xi Jinping] theory is that the people are the centrepiece, and Chairman Mao talked about serving the people … serving the people means property prices can’t go up.”The world’s second largest economy is growing at the slowest rate in decades, posting gross domestic growth (GDP) growth of just 6 per cent in the third quarter this year amid the trade war with the United States. So far Beijing has resisted launching large-scale stimulus even as exports are falling and domestic demand is weakening.

The real estate sector, including construction, remains key driver of China’s economic growth, accounting for around 30 per cent of the nation’s GDP. Land sales to developers also accounts for up to 40 per cent of local government revenues. Commercial bank loans made to the real estate sector slowed from almost 30 per cent in 2017 to below 20 per cent in 2019, according to a report by credit rating agency Moody’s.

Sun also warned that the industry needed to reduce its overall leverage – the level of debt to sales. In addition, it should reduce its reliance on housing sales and branch out to offer “value-added” products that target consumption such as tourism, education and health care.

Sunac, which already has a tourism business, said last month that it planned to work with Tsinghua University in Beijing and the city government of Qingdao in Shandong province to establish a 4.5 billion yuan (US$642 million) medical services centre as its entry into the health care market.

“Our proposal in this area [value-added products] is mainly for five years and 10 years ahead, because it is very difficult to make money right now. We must be calm and steady, we must think about scale and high quality growth,” Sun said.

Being lonely hurts — it can even negatively impact your health. But the mere act of being alone with oneself doesn’t have to be bad, and experts say it can even benefit your social relationships, improve your creativity and confidence, and help you regulate your emotions so that you can better deal with adverse situations.

“It’s not that solitude is always good, but it can be good” if you’re open to rejecting the idea — common in the west — that time by yourself is always a negative experience you’re being forced into, according to Thuy-vy Nguyen, an assistant professor in the department of psychology at Durham University, who studies solitude.

“We have some evidence to show that valuing solitude doesn’t really hurt your social life, in fact, it might add to it,” she said, pointing out that because solitude helps us regulate our emotions, it can have a calming effect that prepares us to better engage with others.

Choosing to spend time doing things by yourself can have mental, emotional and social benefits, but the key to reaping those positive rewards comes from choosing to spend time alone. In a culture where we often confuse being alone for loneliness, the ability to appreciate time by ourselves prevents us from processing the experience as a negative thing. In fact, getting better at identifying moments when we need solitude to recharge and reflect can help us better handle negative emotions and experiences, like stress and burnout, said Emily Roberts, a psychotherapist.

The added bonus? Getting started is easy — all you need is yourself.

Why it’s hard to spend time alone

“Historically, solitude has had a pretty bad rap” because it is sometimes used as a form of punishment, said Robert Coplan, a developmental psychologist and professor of psychology at Carleton University.

The problem is that we forget solitude can also be a choice — and it doesn’t have to be full time. Because there is so much research demonstrating that humans are social creatures who benefit from interacting with others, “people will try to dismiss that it’s also important to spend time alone,” he said. “It’s hard for them to imagine that you can have both.”

“Some people make their solitude experience entirely about other people,” Dr. Nguyen added. Research has shown that people often feel inhibited from enjoying activities alone, especially when they think others are watching them. Overestimating how much other people are paying attention to us, and worrying that we’re being judged, can stop us from doing things that would otherwise bring us joy.

Being alone with your thoughts, and giving yourself the space and unstructured time to let your mind wander without social distractions, can also sometimes feel intimidating, said Angela Grice, a speech language pathologist who has conducted research on executive functions and neuroscience at Howard University and the Neurocognition of Language Lab at Columbia University.

“There have been studies that show when we are by ourselves, what is uncomfortable is the lack of stimuli, that you can’t rely on other people to shape your experience in a certain way,” Dr. Nguyen said.

Our aversion to being alone can be quite drastic: A quarter of the women and two-thirds of the men in a University of Virginia study chose to subject themselves to an electric shock rather than do nothing and spend time alone with their thoughts.

Why it’s good to spend time alone

An online survey called The Rest Test showed that the majority of activities people defined as most restful are things that are done solo.

Despite the social stigma and apprehension about spending time alone, it’s something our bodies crave. Similar to how loneliness describes being alone and wanting company, “aloneliness” can be used to describe the natural desire for solitude, Dr. Coplan said. Since we’re not used to labeling that feeling, it can easily be confused for, and feed into, other feelings like anxiety, exhaustion and stress, especially since “we might not know that time alone is what we need to make ourselves feel better,” Dr. Coplan added.

Enjoying the benefits of time alone isn’t a question of being an introvert or extrovert, Dr. Nguyen said. More consistently, people who value solitude and who tend not to ignore their own desires in the pursuit of pleasing others will find time alone more enjoyable, she said.

The freedom of not having to follow the lead of others, with “no pressure to do anything, no pressure to talk to anyone, no obligation to make plans with people,” is a great way to process and decompress, even for highly social individuals, Ms. Roberts said. It also helps us discover new interests and ideas without having to worry about the opinions of others — one study even showed that teens are less self-conscious when they’re alone.

“Cultivating this sense of being alone and making the choice to be alone can help you to develop who you are, your sense of self, and what your true interests are,” Dr. Grice said. Knowing oneself makes it easier to find other people who share your passions, and can improve your empathy. It can also help you re-evaluate “filler” friendships: relationships you maintain because you’d rather do anything on a Friday night besides staying at home by yourself, even at the cost of spending time with people whose company you don’t enjoy.

Time with your thoughts sans social distractions can also be restorative, build your confidence and make it easier for you to maintain boundaries, Ms. Roberts said. In addition, it can boost productivity, engagement with others and creativity, and a study published in Current Directions in Psychological Science found that brainstorming was enhanced when participants alternated between brainstorming alone and with a group.

How to do it

In a twist on the golden rule: treat yourself as you would treat others. Don’t flake. Be open to exploring new interests. Make space in your life and put in the time, even if it’s just spending 30 minutes a week reading at a cafe.

If you’re just getting started, “take small steps,” Dr. Grice suggests. Time spent alone is a great opportunity to explore new interests, but it doesn’t mean you have to totally push yourself outside of your comfort zone. And if the thought of spending time alone is especially stressful or triggering, that could be an important sign that you may need professional support, Dr. Grice adds.

But if you’re at a loss as to how to jump in, “plan out something that you know that you will enjoy doing, maybe something that helps you feel more productive, or helps you be more relaxed,” Dr. Nguyen said.

If you’re having an especially hard time listening to the thoughts inside your head, journaling can be a great way of working through and evaluating those emotions, Ms. Roberts said. And though it’s tempting, “try not to be on your phone, because it’s too big of a distraction.” Instead, Dr. Coplan suggests reading, making crafts, going to a movie, grabbing a meal, visiting a park, trying to learn a new skill or any one of the infinite options available besides making your alone time about other people and obsessively checking social media.

Ultimately, each person will have a different ideal balance between how much time they spend alone and with others, but “nobody is going to be optimally served by doing only one or the other,” he said.

Above all, the most important step in being able to reap the benefits of time alone is simple, Dr. Nguyen said: “Take the opportunity to say, ‘This is the time where I can give something to myself,’ and just endorse that, in this moment, you are your first choice.”

2019/11/07

德国宝马当地时间11月6日发布的2019年7~9月财报显示，净利润同比增长12%至15.21亿欧元。在中国的高档车销售表现坚挺。上年同期燃效测试方法的变更引发的市场混乱导致宝马利润下滑，其反作用也推高了利润增幅。销售额增长8%至266亿欧元。

7~9月销量同比增长4%，达到61万3361辆。“X3”等利润率较高的SUV表现坚挺。集团整体在华销量增长了10%。宝马首席财务官（CFO）尼古拉斯•彼得在电话记者会上表示，“中国业务的增长率超出预期”。

白通社明斯克11月5日电。白通社从白罗斯领导人新闻服务处报道。白罗斯总统亚历山大·卢卡申科继续在阿联酋的访问。11月5日，白罗斯国家元首会见了阿联酋副总统，总理兼国防部长，迪拜酋长国酋长穆罕默德·本·拉希德·阿里—马克图姆。

提及了两国间进行高水平的政治对话，并定期接触，在贸易、经济、科学技术和人文领域强化发展合作。宣布准备加强白罗斯—阿联酋所有领域的合作。

亚历山大·卢卡申科强调，白罗斯不仅对贸易关系的发展感兴趣，而且对联合项目的实施和经验交流也很感兴趣。 这次会议特别讨论了运输和物流，金融领域的有前景的项目。 其中之一是在阿联酋方的帮助下在明斯克建造国际金融中心。 目前，正在实施该项目的概念的开发。

持续的投资合作，包括在农业领域，具有很大的潜力。 在这方面，正在讨论建立合资企业并随后销售农产品和食品的可能性。 阿联酋对白罗斯在信息和通信技术领域的发展经验也很感兴趣。

另外，这是为阿拉伯联合酋长国为“ EXPO 2020”世界博览会做准备的问题。 尤其是白罗斯方面的参与，使白罗斯国家馆以最佳形式展示并以最高效率运作。

亚历山大·卢卡申科和穆罕默德•本•拉希德•阿里—马克图姆酋长在正式晚宴上继续保持联系。结束后白罗斯国家元首感谢款待，并赠送了白罗斯艺术家安德烈·西特科的一幅名为《马》的画。另一个传统的礼物是装有白罗斯肉和奶制品、糖果的篮子。

据越南水产品加工和出口协会的消息，11月5日，美国《联邦纪事》（Federal Register）公布了美国农业部食品安全检验局(FSIS)的法律文件，其中公认越南为具备资质向美国出口鲶鱼的国家。

越通社河内——据越南水产品加工和出口协会的消息，11月5日，美国《联邦纪事》（Federal Register）公布了美国农业部食品安全检验局(FSIS)的法律文件，其中公认越南为具备资质向美国出口鲶鱼的国家。

FSIS确认，越南鲶鱼监管系统与美国等效。FSIS正对其鲶鱼监管系统进行修改以将越南列为有资质向美国出口鲶鱼的国家名录。

对于越南输美的鲶鱼产品，首先越南有关机关须签发输美资质证书，其后FSIS继续在美国各入境处对进口产品进行检查。

此外，FSIS也将取样，然后在实验室再对样品进行分析以发现进口商品中农用化学残留物或病原体。达标的产品将准许进入美国市场。

据FSIS的统计， 自2014年至2018年期间，美国从越南进口的鲶鱼量占该国鲶鱼进口总量的91.2%。

越南农业与农村发展部农林水产品质量管理局局长阮如捷评价称，此次美国确认越南输美鲶鱼产品监管系统等效一事为今后推动越南查鱼（鲶鱼的一种）产业可持续发展注入强劲动力，其不仅刺激向美国出口、而且还有助于促进对其他市场的出口活动。

阮如捷还强调，此事也表明越南出口查鱼的生产链和加工链的质量和安全监管能力已满足各项苛刻要求，有助于越南查鱼更容易地进军美国和其他市场。

值得注意的是，越南也将能补充注册向美国出口查鱼的企业，更重要的是树立起美进口商对越南产品的信心，从而提升2019年底越南对美国的查鱼出口量和出口额。

2018年5月，FSIS代表团对越南进行实地考察并公认，越南鲶鱼在生产、加工和出口过程中所采用的食品安全控制体系完全满足美国的规定。

2018年9月，FSIS公布了公认鲶鱼监管系统的草案以征集公众的意见，结果显示，民众支持率高达80%。到2019年10月31日，美国农业部已正式公布越南鲶鱼安全与质量控制系统与美国等效。

2015年12月，美国出台《鲶形目鱼类及其产品强制检验律例》，规定出口国必需参照美国监管系统对输美鲶鱼实施等效监管，不然将丧失对美出口资格。

一项研究结果显示，若雇主成功鼓励员工做到世界卫生组织（WHO）建议的运动指导方针，就可促进世界经济，一年规模达1000亿美元之多。

路透社报道，英国“活力”健康保险集团（Vitality）及智库“兰德欧洲”（RAND Europe）研究发现，每天多步行15分钟，或每天固定慢跑一公里，或许可以改善生产力及延长预期寿命，也就能带动经济成长。

这项研究的作者表示，经济成长的动能主要来自死亡率降低，也就是活着的人口更多，能劳动、对经济有贡献的时间更长，员工请病假的天数也更少。

“兰德欧洲”主席庞恩（Hans Pung）说，这项研究凸显“不运动与生产力降低之间的显着关联”，应能给予决策者及雇主有关如何提升人民及员工生产力的新观点。

世界卫生组织建议成人每周应至少做150分钟中度运动或75分钟剧烈运动。去年一项研究发现，约40%的美国成人、36%的英国成人、14%的中国成人所做的运动不足以保持健康。

“活力”健康保险集团及“兰德欧洲”的研究有部分以来自7国、约12万人的数据为基础，然后为全球及23个单一国家建立模型，预测增加体能活动带来的潜在经济利益。

研究结果发现，若所有18岁到64岁成人每天多走15分钟，就可能在一年期的比较中增加约1000亿美元的全球经济产出。

研究还发现，不运动的40岁成人每天若慢跑20分钟，平均可增加3.2岁的预期寿命。

俄罗斯卫星通讯社莫斯科11月1日电 俄罗斯远东吸引投资和出口支持署投资经理瓦西里∙波将金表示，在远东超前发展区的外国投资中中国投资占59.1%。

远东与北极发展部官网援引波将金称：“中国是远东地区的主要投资伙伴之一。其中，中国投资者参与了49个超前发展区和符拉迪沃斯托克自由港的项目，总投资27亿美元。另有总额超过230亿美元的40个投资项目正在筹备阶段。”
波特金介绍称，中国资本参与的最大项目是中国黄金集团参与的金矿项目、China Energy参与的煤炭项目、中国成达工程有限公司参与的纳霍德卡矿物肥料工厂、中鼎联合牧业股份有限公司参与的牛奶厂等项目。

据俄罗斯远东与北极发展部的数据，2018年远东地区与中国的贸易增长26%，达到97亿美元，而在2019年上半年增长了21%，达到49亿美元。

不是新观点的观点

俄罗斯独立工会联合会副主席亚历山大·舍尔舒科夫（Aleksandr Shershukov）说：“主要是用人单位要明白，缩短工作周天数并不是说要按比例降低薪资，薪资应该维持在之前的水平不变。”如果该提议获得政府的支持，那么工作周天数具体是多少这一问题工会暂时还很难回答。他说：“如果开始讨论的话，这将是主题。我们要选择在这种情况下要参考哪个标准，每周工作27个小时的荷兰还是法国（35个小时），以及奥地利和德国（38个小时），或者是每周工作60个小时的中国。问题是从劳动法和社会保障的角度看，我们应该参考哪个方向，欧洲还是亚洲？”

在提请大家注意目前全世界都在积极讨论改为每周四天工作制可能性的同时，俄罗斯独立工会联合会提出通过优化劳动和休息时间缩短工作周的想法，而且必须要维持之前的薪资水平。提议说：“我们建议在协调社会劳动关系三方委员会中审议该问题，要同时考虑到现行的薪资制度、工作时间机制的差异以及俄罗斯劳工组织的其他特征。”

该提议并不是刚刚提出的，早在今年6月俄政府总理梅德韦杰夫（Dmirty Medvedev）在日内瓦第108届国际劳工大会上就提出过要为俄罗斯人推行每周四天工作制。他说：“技术进步不仅可以压缩工作岗位，也可以减少工作时间并增加休息时间。未来每周四天工作制很可能会成为社会劳动合同的基础。我提请大家回顾一下一百年前亨利·福特（Henry Ford）决定将每周工作时间从48小时减为40小时，从而显著提高了劳动生产率。”梅德韦杰夫还提到推行每周四天工作制的一家新西兰企业的经验。第三天休息日的薪资与其他两天休息日是一样的。结果每小时劳动生产率提高了约20%，员工的压力则显著减轻。

舍尔舒科夫认为劳动生产率与每周工作时间无关。他说：“德国人工作的小时数比俄罗斯人少三分之一，劳动效率却更高。他们使用更先进的管理方法和技术装备。但这是用人单位应做的，他们应更积极地增加技术装备投入。届时我国的劳动生产率也会提高。”

劳动法的规定

俄罗斯劳动法规定俄罗斯职工每周工作时间最长不得超过40个小时，就是说禁止工作得更多，但少工作多少都可以。俄劳动部指出：“没有下限。因此，在社会伙伴关系（集体协议）框架内，如今已经可以减少每天的工作小时数或者每周的工作天数。”然而，很少有用人单位这样做。如果改为每周四天工作制，任何一家企业都需要优化升级。“但改造升级成本可能太高，企业没有做好这方面支出的准备”，俄罗斯总统国民经济与行政学院经济与社会科学系企业管理与经营教研室主任叶甫根尼·伊察科夫（Evgeny Itsakov）说，“该提议与编码化和数字化完全无关，我们需要过渡到一个新的技术结构才可以谈论推行每周四天工作制的问题”。

他认为缩短工作周无论如何都是温和社会政策的标志。伊察科夫说：“希腊人实行每周四天工作制的结局是国家破产。法国实行每周35小时工作制后人均GDP大幅下降。”

因此，显然无论是有这样机会的企业还是劳动者本身都不愿缩短工作日或工作周（据全俄民意研究中心数据显示，近一半/48%/的俄罗斯人不支持将工作周缩短至四天的想法）。人们担心（并非没有理由）收入降低。

俄罗斯普列汉诺夫经济大学组织管理创新教研室副教授米哈伊尔·哈恰图良（Mikhail Khachaturyan）说：“在延长劳动时间以及实际工资没有增加的情况下缩短工作周很可能会对劳动者造成负面影响，就是说在收入不变的情况下我们会工作得更多，劳动效率却不会提高。”他认为在维持每天工作小时数不变的情况下缩短工作周将导致工资减少，即用人单位可以节省劳动开支。俄政府副总理塔季扬娜·格里科娃（Tatyana Golikova）此前也曾表达过同样的担忧。她说：“提出每周四天工作制这一问题的同时首先应该考虑到公民的社会保障问题以及他们能够拿到多少工资。”

俄劳动部表示，该问题需要工会和用人单位参与讨论。俄罗斯独立工会联合会预计将于九月开始讨论这一问题。

根据俄罗斯统计局的数据，去年头九个月俄居民贫困率低于13.3%，与2017年同期（13.8%）相比，明显下降。俄劳动和社会保障部长马克西姆·托皮林宣布，此前俄在八个地区启动试点项目减少收入水平低于最低生活标准的家庭数量。这是一项排查低收入家庭并为其制定个性化脱贫路径的实验计划。预计从2021年开始这项工作计划将在全国展开，为此将启用国家社会保障统一信息系统。

新举措的意义

俄罗斯普列汉诺夫经济大学经济理论教研室副教授叶卡捷琳娜·诺维科娃（Ekaterina Novikova）说：“劳动和社会保障部长马克西姆·托皮林将信息技术用于减少俄罗斯贫困人口的想法包括大数据管理，是非常客观并经过足够论证的，考虑了世界和我国的数字经济发展状况。”她说，现代技术可以保证针对个人和家庭制定个性化方案，解决其所遇困难，包括失业和其他社会经济问题。叶卡捷琳娜·诺维科娃说：“因此，有很大概率可通过精确分析每个地区的家庭状况，来解决俄罗斯的贫困问题。”

根据俄国家统计局的资料，俄罗斯年收入低于最低生活标准的居民约有2000万，占全国人口的13%。诺维科娃说：“谈到有足够购买力水平的真实收入，则约3600万人或25%的人口位于贫困线以下，即无法为家庭提供必需的食品和药品保障。”她说，因此理应努力减少国内不平等现象，包括通过使用信息技术的精确方法。俄总统直属国民经济与国家行政学院社会分析与预测研究所养老体系研究和社会学领域精算预测实验室主任叶莲娜·格里申娜（Elena Grishina）说：“这是一项必要举措，因为需要查明贫困的具体情况，制定帮助具体人群的特别措施，并针对具体情形开展精确工作，制定降低风险的行动计划。”

替代方法

叶莲娜·格里申娜说，可以有不同的反贫困补充措施，包括提高劳动技能的综合措施，比如为劳动技能低的各种人群提供培训，在创造幼托机构体系的框架内为带孩子的妇女提供一系列就业工具，帮助弱势群体就业，其中包括多子女家庭、残疾人、带小孩的母亲。她说：“接下来是完善社会扶持体系，强化救济的针对性，即在更大程度上将社会扶持资源集中到更需要的人身上，提高救济规模，启用贫困家庭走出生活困境的社会合同体系。”她说，这意味着应实施一系列综合措施，在具体地区产生减贫效果。

自由财经投资公司分析师阿纳斯塔西娅·索斯诺娃（Anastasia Sosnova）认为更有效的办法是评估家庭资产和潜在收入能力，因为负担因素越多，社会救济的理由越多。她说：“此外，还可以提供食品券、医疗券、校餐补偿、幼托费补偿以代替金钱救济，我认为这样才能让收到的资金用到实处。”