Stay home!

That’s the message Beijing wants Chinese auto makers to hear when it comes to acquisitions. The government would much prefer they purchase distressed domestic rivals and bring some consolidation to the Chinese market. The National Basketball Association (NBA) is also looking towards China as it could benefit from sports infrastructure spending which is included in Beijing’s US$585 billion stimulus package. Tim Chen, NBA’s China CEO, said the organization has received requests from four or five Chinese cities to operate their local sports stadiums. The NBA set up a joint venture with AEG, a unit of Anschutz ,in 2008 to operate stadiums in China including an 18,000-seat venue in Shanghai. China’s small and medium-sized business owners – and there are probably enough of them to fill a couple of sports stadiums – have something to shout about today; Beijing will not be making changes to the labor contract law that was passed in 2008. According to Xin Chunying, deputy director of the legislative affairs commission of the National People’s Congress Standing Committee the passing of the law has nothing to do with the large number of factories that closed last year. The China Association of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises disagrees, claiming some members’ costs have risen by 10% to 20% due to the law.