China sells US bonds to 'show concern'
Jun 17 04:20 AM US/Eastern

A decision by China to reduce its US Treasury holdings suggests concern about the US attitude towards its economic woes, Chinese economists were quoted as saying in state media Wednesday.
The remarks, coming after US data showed a modest decline in Chinese investments in US government bonds, were in contrast to an earlier statement in Beijing which had said the recent sell-off was a routine transaction.
"China is implying to the US, more or less, that it should adopt a more pragmatic and responsible attitude to maintain the stability of the dollar," He Maochun, a political scientist at Tsinghua University, told the Global Times

British PM says world in 'depression, in latest slip
Feb 4 11:15 AM US/Eastern

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said Wednesday that the world is in a full-blown economic "depression," but his office quickly scrambled to say it been a slip of the tongue.
In his latest apparent gaffe -- after mistakenly claiming to have "saved the world" in December -- Brown said governments need to agree on coordinated stimulus measures to "take the world out of depression."
Brown, who is to host a summit of the Group of 20 advanced and developing nations in April, underlined the need for a rapid agreement on the World Trade Organization (WTO)'s Doha round of trade liberalisation talks.
"The biggest danger that the world faces is a retreat into protectionism," he told lawmakers at a weekly question session in the House of Commons dominated by the economic gloom.
"It's all the more reason why first of all we should sign the Doha agreement... and secondly we should make sure that every country is analysed for what it is doing by the World Trade Organization to prevent protectionism. ( learn more at )