BASEL (Switzerland) - THE global economy is 'approaching' a pick-up point as positive elements that could fuel growth have yet to be priced in, G10 central bankers said on Monday.
'We have a number of elements that are suggesting that we are approaching the moment where you would have a pick up,' European Central Bank head Jean-Claude Trichet said in his capacity as spokesman for the G10 central bankers meeting at the Bank for International Settlements (BIS).
MUNICH - A SMOOTH-talking con man known as the 'Swiss Gigolo' was jailed for six years on Monday for cheating and blackmailing a string of super-rich lovers, including Germany's wealthiest woman.
Helg Sgarbi, 44, admitted as his trial opened in Munich 'the essence' of the charges against him, which included trying to hoodwink BMW heiress Susanne Klatten out of more than 340 million euros (S$666 million).
TAIPEI - TAIWAN will phase out its decades-old military conscription policy over the next five years, the defence minister said on Monday, amid warming ties with China. Currently all men aged over 20 are required to do one year's military service.
But Defence Minister Chen Chao-min told reporters that the structure of Taiwan's military manpower will undergo a dramatic change over the next few years.
HONG KONG - ASIAN stock markets sank on Monday, with Hong Kong's benchmark dropping almost 2 per cent, amid persistent fears that a recovery for slumping economies in the US and elsewhere is still far off.
Investors continued to shun banks on worries they still haven't raised enough capital to make up for their colossal losses. European heavyweight lender HSBC tumbled more than 10 per cent in Hong Kong trade.
