In a move to strenghten its Asian presence and emerging markets HSBC decided to relocated its CEO to Hong Kong. This is in line with the group's earlier strategy to expand in Asian and emerging markets. HSBC says the Holdings will remain domiciled in the UK.

Little Macao's economy and steady unemployment levels may be worth the attention of a Western Analyist. The unemployment in Macao has remained steady, which in turn may give hopes to the Chinese economy and that in return may brighten the outlook of the global economic recovery.

The global economic slowdown continues to take a toll on Asia. New data from China show growth is slowing, while the South Korean central bank has made an unprecedented interest rate cut. And things are not likely to improve next year.

Oil prices are now more than 60 percent off their record highs in July. Although the oil price still remains above $50 a barrel, in Asia, consumers and governments are benefitting from the decline. VOA's Kate Pound Dawson in Bangkok takes a look at what cheaper oil means for the region.

The Asian Development Bank says while Asia will not be immune to the global slowdown, economies in the region will continue to see solid growth in 2008. But the bank warns in its annual outlook that inflation in the region will jump this year.

Business executives in India are the most optimistic in the world in terms of expectations for growth in Indian economy, their industries as well as improvement in inflation levels in their countries, a new McKinsey study shows.

Asia's economic development is a success story that has been decades in the making. But in the past decade, the region has become a key factor in a global imbalance marked by too much reliance on exports by countries in one part of the world and excessive consumption by countries in another part, such as the United States. As senior officials from the Asian Development Bank gather in Kyoto, Japan, some say the way to end this imbalance is through regional economic integration.

The United Nations has warned that Asia is more vulnerable to a repeat of the financial meltdown that swept the region a decade ago, while hailing it as the locomotive of global growth. The caution is issued in the annual survey by ESCAP, the UN's Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific.

A regional United Nations agency says Asia needs to step up investment in infrastructure to maintain the region's high growth momentum. Anjana Pasricha reports from New Delhi, where the U.N.'s Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) recently held a meeting on infrastructure development in Asia.