US clinches China film market deal
U.S. Vice President Joe Biden has said China has agreed to significantly improve market access for American films. The agreement allows more American exports to China of 3D, IMAX, and similar enhanced-format movies on favourable commercial terms. The deal was announced after Vice President Xi Jinping's whirlwind tour to the United States. "This agreement with China will make it easier than ever before for U.S. studios and independent filmmakers to reach the fast-growing Chinese audience, supporting thousands of American jobs in and around the film industry," Mr Biden said in a statement. The U.S. film industry has long complained about China's tight restrictions on the number of foreign films allowed into the country each year, a limit that they say helps fuel demand for pirated DVDs that are widely available in China. While the quota of 20 foreign films per year remains in place, Beijing granted other concessions that pleased Hollywood. The Office of the United States Trade Representative said the deal strengthens the opportunities to distribute films through private enterprises rather than the state film monopoly, and ensures fairer compensation levels for U.S. blockbuster films distributed by Chinese state-owned enterprises.
NZ approves dairy farms deal with China
The New Zealand government has approved the sale of 16 dairy farms to a company controlled by a wealthy Chinese businessman, Jiang Zhaobai. The company didn't reveal how much it is paying, but said it would invest more than US$ 164 million in the first two years. It said the deal would supply high quality diary products to China. But the deal has sparked local objections to the increasing foreign ownership of the country's key industries.
Eurozone deal reached without UK
European Union leaders, excepting Britain, have banded together to back tighter budget policing after a heated summit considered a last chance to save the debt-struck eurozone. After two years of foot-dragging on deepening integration, 26 of the 27 EU states signalled their willingness to join a "new fiscal compact" to resolve the two-year crisis threatening to crack apart the monetary union. But the deal came with a heavy political price when non-euro Britain resisted a Franco-German drive to enshrine new budget rules in a modified EU treaty to carve them into stone. The 17 eurozone nations signed up to the pact while nine other EU nations, "indicated the possibility to take part in this process" after consulting their parliaments, EU leaders said in a statement. Hungary had originally voiced reluctance, while Sweden and the Czech Republic were undecided. The accord, which is to include automatic sanctions that can only be blocked by a majority of powerful states, aims to end past practices of overspending responsible for the two-year debt crisis ravaging Europe.
EU reach partial deal on averting crisis
European Union finance ministers in Brussels have reached a deal to help stabilise the Eurozone debt crisis. Banks in the Eurozone will have to raise more capital to protect themselves against market turmoil. But there's still no agreement on expanding the wider Eurozone bailout fund for indebted countries. But ministers say Europe will find a cure for its debt crisis between now and Wednesday. Chancellor Angela Merkel and President Nicolas Sarkozy both cited "progress" before knuckling down to the biggest sticking point on the eve of an EU summit where Italy comes under intense pressure to lift much of the burden. Negotiations in Brussels "will be difficult," Merkel said of a target to shape "definitive decisions" come a second summit called for midweek.
US House speaker confident of debt deal
US House Speaker John Boehner says he's confident of reaching a last-minute deal with President Barack Obama to avert a potentially catastrophic US debt default. Speaking next to Senator Mitch McConnell, Mr Boehner said the two top Republicans in Congress "are both confident that we're going to come to some agreement with the White House and end this impasse." Mr Boehner voiced optimism, even though both the House of Representatives and the Senate, which are led by rival parties, have shot down proposals from the other chamber. "In spite of our differences, I think we're dealing with reasonable, responsible people who want this crisis to end as quickly as possible. And I'm confident that we will," Mr Boehner told reporters. But he accused Mr Obama of holding up the process, saying: "We could have had this bill finished early last week." The United States has until midnight Tuesday to reach a deal to raise the ceiling for its debt or it will default, with potentially catastrophic consequences for the world economy. A number of differences persist between the two sides, with the Republicans insisting that action on the debt ceiling come with approval of an amendment to the US Constitution requiring balanced budgets. President Obama, his political allies and their Republican Party rivals have been holding urgent talks in Washington to find a way out of the debt crisis.
China hails new Greek debt deal
China on Saturday welcomed the new bailout plan for the troubled Greek economy as a solid step forward in addressing the eurozone's sovereign debt problem. "This will help in promoting a resolution of the eurozone sovereign debt issues, maintaining financial stability in the eurozone and its member states, and maintaining market confidence," central bank governor Zhou Xiaochuan said. "We support the efforts made by the European Union and the eurozone in combating the global financial crisis and improving their fiscal situation," he said in a statement posted on the website of the People's Bank of China. Eurozone leaders and private creditors agreed at an emergency summit late on Thursday to give Greece a new 159-billion-euro bailout.
Rio Tinto sign deal with Aborigines
One of the world's biggest mining companies, Rio Tinto, has signed a landmark deal with five Aboriginal groups in Western Australia, giving the company access to seventy thousand square kilometres of traditional land in which to develop new mines and rail and port infrastructure.