'Asia's economy robust despite plunging shares'

Ten years ago the crumpling of Asia's paper tiger economies sent shockwaves across the globe, but this time the region is being pummeled by a crisis that is "Made in the United States".

Plunging Asian share prices have again raised the spectre of a financial crisis, but analysts say the region's economies are healthy and can weather the current crisis triggered by woes in the US mortgage market.

"The Asian market fell because of somewhere other than Asia," said Dong Tao, the chief economist at Credit Suisse. "This is a US problem and Asian fundamentals remain strong."

He was referring to parts of the giant US mortgage market, where defaulting borrowers and falling house prices have caused concern on Wall Street about a possible seizure of the financial system.

The uncertainty rippled through the world's stock markets, including in Asia, but a move by the US central bank on Friday to ease one of its interest rates assuaged some of the concerns in the US and Europe.

That could help sentiment in Asia too, where the recent sell-off has put investors in mind of the 1997 financial crisis.

Asia's position is in fact much more robust than in 1997, said Tai Hui, an economist at Standard Chartered bank.

"The turmoil we have seen has had very little impact on Asian financial stability in the 'real' economy," he said. "I am very sure we are not talking about a financial crisis on the 1997 scale."

The 1997 crisis involved sharp falls in Asian currencies, stock markets and other asset prices, which disrupted and retarded the region's economies. But today many Asian countries have stockpiled foreign exchange reserves to defend their currencies. The region's economies and firms have also been doing well.

AFP

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British toy seller Hamleys pulls products in lead scare

World famous British toy seller Hamleys has confirmed that it had pulled two products containing potentially fatal levels of lead from its stores and launched an inquiry, a report said Sunday.

The products, imported from China, included a five-pound (7.35-euro, 9.90-dollar) bracelet made of 93 per cent lead, which is high enough to cause brain damage, and potentially kill a child that chewed on it, according to The Sunday Times. The recommended international safety limit is 0.06 per cent.

"Immediate action was obviously taken to remove these dangerous products from our shops as soon as we became aware of the problem," a company spokeswoman said. "We would never ever knowingly sell toxic jewellery to customers and take the health and safety of our customers extremely seriously.

"We are urgently reviewing our quality assurance process." The Hamleys decision comes just days after US toy giant Mattel recalled 18 million Chinese-made products worldwide, citing serious concerns for children's safety.

In an alert earlier this month, Mattel's Fisher-Price subsidiary recalled nearly one million Chinese-made toys decorated with lead-based paint, which can harm children.

AFP