Iran Live Coverage: Engineering June's Presidential Election

The Supreme Leader's senior aide Ali Akbar Velayati announces plans for the Presidential election at a Sunday press conference

See also Sunday's Iran Live Coverage: Revolutionary Guards v. Ahmadinejad

---

1818 GMT: Economy Watch. The Financial Times picks up on one of the hot topics of conversation as Iranian New Year approaches --- the sharp rise in pistachio prices.

The nuts, a staple of the Nowruz celebrations, have soared in cost at home as farmers --- able to make three times as much as a year ago in foreign currency because of the falling Iranian Rial --- send their pistachios abroad.

One kilogrammes of pistachios cost 200,000 Rials last year. This March, the price is between IR540,000 and IR780,000.

In recent days, the Government has forced shops to sell pistachios at 300,000 Rial per kilo, but the intervention has had little effect so far.

Click to read more ...

Iran Analysis: 5 Challenges to an "It's Not That Bad" Iranian Economist

Protest over Inflation, July 2012"Thanks to the strength of the salaried middle class and president Ahmadinejad’s free spending habits, awareness of inflation has heightened in all decision making circles in Iran.”

This is a curiously blithe comment, illuminating the tendency towards rose-coloured analysis. “Awareness of inflation” does not mean “dealing with inflation”. To the contrary, the dominant political story in Iran in the last few months has been trading of allegations between the executive and legislative branches, with Parliament and Ahmadinejad facing off over the second phase of the subsidy cuts programme.

Click to read more ...

China This Week: President Hu at APEC; Investment Promises to Wal-Mart; Anti-Inflation Measures

Hu Urges Trade Liberalisation at APEC:  Chinese President Hu Jintao urged the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) economies to promote liberalization and facilitation of trade and investment.

Addressing the second session of the 18th APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting, Hu said, "APEC should continue to uphold the spirit of the Bogor Goals [of free and open trade and investment], adapt to the changing situation and actively tackle new challenges, leverage its own strengths and further improve itself."

Hu also defended the role of newly emerging markets in world economic recovery and gave assurances that China seeks to expand domestic demand growth and remains committed to reforming its exchange rate.

Click to read more ...

China Economy Weekly: Beijing-ASEAN Trade; Rare Earths “Not Bargaining Instrument”; 12th Five-Year Plan

China and ASEAN Trade: Premier Wen Jiabao, speaking at the 13th China-ASEAN Summit in Hanoi, Vietnam has said China is determined to develop economic ties with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

Wen proposed that bilateral trade be increased to $500 billion by 2015, promising that China will make an effort to buy more from ASEAN countries. He also suggested setting up an Industrial Cooperation Mechanism within the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area framework to handle any problems and differences that arise.

Rare Earths “Not Bargaining Instrument”:  Beijing has said that it will not use rare earths as a diplomatic "bargaining tool", in response to challenges against its management of the vital metals.

Click to read more ...