Hong Kong’s financial system grew a less than expected 3 percent in the fourth quarter from a year previous as Europe’s debt crisis hampered exports. The development was the least in two years and compared with the 3.1 percent median forecast in a Bloomberg News survey of 12 economists. Financial Secretary John Tsang gave the number in his budget speech today. For the full year, growth was 5 percent.

Hong Kong can give focus this year on supporting growth rather than limiting the risk of real-estate bubbles as property prices fall and exports weaken. Chief Executive Donald Tsang said last week in Davos, Switzerland, that he has never been as scared about the global economic outlook, and UBS AG says the city may have a “superficial” depression in the first half. A budget surplus will “help to shore up Hong Kong’s defenses in an increasingly unstable global financial environment,” .UBS sees Hong Kong’s economy growing 1.6 percent this year, while Standard Chartered Plc predicts increase of 2.9 percent.

European governments moved toward a argument over a second free package for Greece, just as a dimming economic viewpoint in Portugal opened a new front in the debt crisis.  Euro leaders left a Brussels high point late yesterday with no agreement over how to plug Greece’s increasing budget hole and German Chancellor Angela Merkel expressing annoyance with the Athens government’s incapability to carry out a financial alteration.

Bargaining with Greece over a balance record and its economic management outshine efforts to point the way out of the monetary disaster. EU chiefs agreed to speed the setup of a full-time 500 billion-euro ($654 billion) rescue fund and signed off on a German-inspired deficit-control concord. The summit was the 16th in the two years since the Greek debt emergency aggravated a Europe-wide drama, leading to extraordinary aid packages for Greece, Ireland and Portugal and disturbing European confidence that the ordinary currency was unyielding.

China hinted concern toward more financial loosening by holding off on a decrease in bank reserve necessities that some economists had estimated would come before a week-long holiday ending Jan. 28.  Barclays Capital Asia Ltd., JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Industrial Bank Co. said this month that ratios were expected to drop ahead of the Lunar New Year festival, which increases demand for cash. The central bank instead used reverse-repurchase contracts to include money to the economic system.

Premier Wen Jiabao finds ways to guide the world’s second- largest economy through a property market hold up and the weakest export growth since 2009 without re-inflating asset bubbles or driving up consumer prices. The central bank has left benchmark interest rates unchanged for the past six months, while making a single cut to reserve requirements, the first since 2008, that became effective in December. Lu now sees a reserve-ratio cut in February to add liquidity and encourage growth after the reverse-repurchase contracts end.

Citigroup Inc. (C), the third major U.S. lender by assets, slash 2011 bonuses in its investment banking division by about 30 percent on average amid slumping revenue, according to a person saying on the subject.  A number of trades within the securities and finance unit had bonuses concentrated by as much as seventy percent compared with the earlier year, said the person, who asked to stay unidentified because the decisions aren’t public. The unit, led by James “Jamie” Forese, includes bond and stock trading as well as debt and equity underwriting.

Chief Executive Officer Vikram Pandit, 55, is firing workers and shrinking costs in the unit as he grapples with declining revenue. The bank said this month that it will cut about 1,200 workers from the division to save $600 million this year and more reductions may pursue. The unit’s income dipped 21 percent ever since 2009, while reimbursement and other operating costs jumped 15 percent.

Sugar and wheat farming probably will become more productive as the average temperature rises across the U.K. in the next 40 years, the government concluded in a report evaluating the effect of weather alteration. Sugar beet yields might go up 20 percent to 70 percent and wheat yields by as much as 140 percent because the environment is warming, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said today

The warmer climate presents occasions to grow new crops such as soya, sunflowers, peaches, apricots and grapes the division said a report in London. The study also found that climate-related deaths would rise in the summer and reject in the winter and that both floods and dangerous droughts would become more frequent. The information is meant to recommend Prime Minister David Cameron’s government on the measures it needs to endorse to adapt to climate change.

Societe Generale SA (GLE) and Credit Agricola SA (ACA) were surrounded by the French banks to have their credit grades cut by Standard & Poor’s after France was stripped of its top rating earlier this month.  Societe Generale, France’s second-largest bank by market value, and Credit Agricole, the third-biggest, had their liability downgraded to A from A+ with a even attitude, S&P said yesterday in declaration. Caisse des Depots et Consignations was also slashed, to AA+ from AAA.

European nations are grappling with a debt crisis now in its third year as they seek to restore budget order. France’s credit was lowered to AAA from AA+ on 13 January in the middle of downgrades that left Germany the single nation in the euro area with a stable top rating. The assessments for Societe General and Credit Agricola incorporate one level of government support rather than two levels that an AAA rated sovereign would offer, S&P said.

Volkswagen gave away a lavish party for the 120 guests in The New York’s Museum of the Modern Arts in the month of January for making their presence felt in the breakthrough year in the United States from the German carmaker. This celebration proved to be very early. After two days in Detroit, Hyundai Motors CO has beaten the Volkswagen Passat in winning the North American Car of the year award therefore underscoring the high status of the company as the Volkswagen spoilsport.

Hyundai which is the Seoul based manufacturer and one of its affiliate KIA Motors Corp wants to repeat their overwhelming success where they outperform their German compatriot more than three to one. The Hyundai Company needs to be successful in the European markets according to Allan Rushforth who is Hyundai’s Chief operational officer of the Region. Hyundai is considered as the most serious challengers to the Volkswagen.

All the European Union governments came back to German chancellor Angela Merkel’s agenda for fighting out the European debt crisis as all of them made some stricter draft rules on the economic budget shortfall by paying attention to the European bank warnings against all the backsliding. The most up-to-date draft of the economic part, which is to be discussed in the January 23 by the European finance ministers stands on the decision of European central Bank president Mario Draghi’s plea to the Governments for valuing their dedication.

The Central Bank would certainly like to continue with the current economic policy of giving the banks with vast amount of liquidity in hope that they will survive and also buy some of the government bonds according to Carsten Brzeski. To cool down the ECB official will be critical for the policy maker’s efforts in fighting against the debt crisis.

Friedlands Ivanplats which is a mining company run by Billionaire Ivanhoe Mines Ltd its founder Robert Friedland can have as much as one billion dollar in the initial public offering in the second quarter. This has been said by the sources with good knowledge of the plan. Ivanplats which has got metal deposits in South Africa and the democratic Republic of Congo can be priced at 5 billion US dollars after the selling of the stocks.

The IPO can take place in Toronto after the second listing in London according to the people. If the plan works out successfully then the Ivanplats IPO can be the largest in Canada since Athabasca Oil sands Corporation increased 1.3 US billion dollars in the share sales from March 2010. The company is looking forward to bring out a prospectus as early as next month.

Turkey which is known for its fabrics, jewelry and spices is been there for centuries in the bazaars and was among the few last European nations which embraced the modern shopping malls and centers but it is now catching up quickly. The property developers have been hired by the Turkey people who are said to be the youngest population in whole Europe for constructing the malls at a very fast rate compared to any other country in the whole continent other than Russia.

Istanbul which is Turkey’s capital and the most populous and wealthiest city is certainly the biggest centers among the other thirty centers which are in the pipeline. The Private consumption raises an 8.2 percent increase in the GDP in the third quarter which is three times of the Germany’s growth rate. The Hamburg based money manager has got more than four centers valued at 574 million US dollars.