The Secretary-General of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) said that the global economy will shrink this year, despite continued growth in China. Speaking to reporters in Beijing, Angel Gurria said that OECD countries would post “very negative” growth in 2008 while China’s economy is expected to grow by 6-7%. “Even the positive […]
Category: Consumer
Shanghai’s food and drug safety agency said it is testing Johnson & Johnson baby products following allegations they contain potential carcinogens, AP reported. The products were listed in a report issued March 12 by the US-based health and environmental activist group Campaign for Safe Cosmetics as containing formaldehyde and/or 1,4-dioxane. Johnson & Johnson said the chemical […]
The US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) announced that Nordstrom had authorized a voluntary recall of China-made girls’ shoes due to a lead hazard, Reuters reported. The surface paint on the outer sole of the shoes contains excessive lead that violates the federal lead paint standard, the CPSC said in a statement, but added no […]
Consumer confidence in China’s cities fell last month as consumers became increasingly nervous about the state of the global economy, the South China Morning Post reported. About 45% of consumers in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chengdu and Shenyang said that they had already cut back on spending, according to a survey by market research consultancy DDMA. […]
China’s consumer price index (CPI) fell for the first time since 2002 after commodity costs declined, Bloomberg reported. Consumer prices dropped 1.6% in February from a year earlier, the statistics bureau said today, after gaining 1% in January. The producer price index (PPI) fell 4.5%, the most in a decade. In addition to declines in […]