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New Delhi, Jan 9: Downplaying recent irritants in bilateral ties, India Monday sought closer collaboration with China to combat the global economic slowdown and to work jointly on international issues ranging from terrorism to climate change to shape a new world order.

“Uncertainty in the international system is at unprecedented levels. The economic and security situation facing both India and China has become far more complicated in the last few years,” National Security Adviser Shivshankar Menon said here.

Alluding to the global economic slowdown, Menon said: “The relatively benign external environment in the last two decades is changing negatively and is threatened by protectionism in the developed world.”

“I am convinced that our business and economic engagement with each other and with other countries will intensify as we seek to overcome the prospect of sluggish recovery in the traditional engines of growth in the world economy,” he said.

India’s bilateral trade with China has exceeded $67 billion and both countries have launched a strategic economic dialogue to address issues like the growing trade imbalance.

“It is therefore natural for us to take ever greater interest on global issues,” Menon said.

“Equally, global issues like climate change, nuclear proliferation and cyber and space security matter more to both India and China in this globalised world as they influence our development, peace and prosperity,” he said.

Saying the balance of power was in flux in Asia and the world, Menon called for closer global partnership between India and China.

“India and China have demonstrated an ability to deal with difficult issues and to build a cooperative partnership based on common interests. Its regional and global impact, and its long term significance to our own development, is what makes the India-China relationship strategic in the true sense of the term,” he said.

“I am confident that by working together India and China will be able to successfully face the challenges that the new geopolitics are throwing up, and would best serve their own national interests by further deepening their strategic cooperative relationship,” he said.

Menon also sought closer collaboration with China in combating terrorism emanating from the region. “Both India and China face the challenge of terrorism in our shared neighbourhood,” he said.

Washington, Dec 24: Sales of new homes in the US rose 1.6 percent between October and November to reach an annualized rate of 315,000, authorities said Friday.

Yet the figure compares unfavourably with the level of November 2010 - 323,000 - and is far below the annual rate of 700,000 sales that is typical of a strong housing market.

Last month’s reading makes it likely that 2011 will end as the worst year for new home sales since the government started keeping track in 1963.

The market for new homes was strongest last month in the South, where sales rose 12.9 percent, followed by the Midwest with an increase of 7.5 percent.

Sales plunged 26.3 percent in the Northeast in November and were down 16.9 percent in the West, the Commerce Department said.

The median sale price for a single-family home fell from $222,600 in October to $214,100 last month, while the number of such homes on the market nationwide dipped to an all-time low of 158,000.

Sales of existing homes in the US increased 4 percent in November to an annualized rate of 4.42 million, the National Association of Realtors said Wednesday.

The median price for existing homes sold last month was $164,200, down 3.5 percent from November 2010, while inventory declined by 5.8 percent to 2.58 million units, equivalent to eight months’ supply.

Washington, Dec 23: The US economy grew at an annualized rate of 1.8 percent in the third quarter and not 2.5 percent as originally thought, the Commerce Department said Thursday in its third and final estimate for the June-September period.

Data not available at the time of the initial estimate in October showed that consumer spending expanded by only 1.7 percent in the third quarter, compared with a preliminary reading of 2.3 percent.

Consumer spending accounts for nearly 70 percent of US gross domestic product.

The revised report said prices of consumer goods excluding food and energy climbed 2.1 percent in June-September, up slightly from the original estimate of 2 percent.

The department also revised its calculation of the increase in after-tax corporate profits, from 2.5 percent to 2.1 percent.

More than two years after the official end of the worst economic slowdown since the 1930s, the pace of growth remains insufficient to make a dent in unemployment, currently at 8.6 percent.

Meeting earlier this month, the Federal Reserve’s Open Market Committee reiterated its concerns about joblessness and anaemic growth and said it would continue to keep its benchmark interest rate below 0.25 percent.

Washington, Dec 22: US economic growth rate was revised down to 1.8 percent in the third quarter of this year, the commerce department said Thursday.

The department attributed the slowdown to a decline in consumer spending, Xinhua reported.

Real personal consumption expenditures increased 1.7 percent in the third quarter, compared with 2.3 percent in the previous estimate.

Economic growth in the July-September quarter was lower than the previous estimate of 2 percent but was still a welcome acceleration from the 1.3 percent in the April-June quarter.

Real nonresidential fixed investment increased 15.7 percent in the third quarter, faster than the 14.8 percent growth in the previous reading, said the department.

Real exports of goods and services rose 4.7 percent in the third quarter, compared with an increase of 4.3 percent in the previous estimate.

Real federal government consumption expenditures and gross investment edged up 2.1 percent in the third quarter, slightly higher than growth of 1.9 percent in the previous reading.

The US Federal Reserve said earlier this month that the US economy had been “expanding moderately” and the central bank expected a moderate pace of economic growth over the coming quarters.

The BSE's market cap stood at $994.78 billion (Rs 52,60,044 crore) at close of trade today, which is down $629 billion since the start of this year. The Indian rupee has shed over 20 per cent since July 2011. In rupee terms, the BSE Sensex value fell 22.6 per cent. However, in US dollar terms, it fell 35.5 per cent. Countries that have done worse than India include Egypt, Turkey and Greece.

Indian equity markets lost their trillion dollar status on Tuesday. This means that the market capitalisation of all stocks listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) fell below $1 trillion mark.

An estimated 13 countries are in the trillion-dollar club. The US, the UK, Canada, Brazil, Australia, Hong Kong, South Korea, China, Japan, Spain, Germany, Switzerland and France are part of the trillion dollar club. Earlier this year, Russia moved out of this league.

Over the past one year, Indian shares have underperformed all major markets in the world.

The BSE's market cap stood at $994.78 billion (Rs 52,60,044 crore) at close of trade today, which is down $629 billion since the start of this year. The Indian rupee has shed over 20 per cent since July 2011. That has had an impact on the market value of Indian equities in US dollar terms.

In rupee terms, the BSE Sensex value fell 22.6 per cent. However, in US dollar terms, it fell 35.5 per cent. Countries that have done worse than India include Egypt, Turkey and Greece.

Beijing, Dec 18: More Chinese cities saw monthly home prices decline in November after the government took a slew of measures to curb runaway property prices.

In November, 49 cities out of a statistical pool of 70 major cities saw drops in new home prices from October, compared with 34 cities in October, the National Bureau of Statistics said Sunday.

New home prices in 16 cities stayed flat last month from October, and the growth rates of home prices in the other five cities were all below 0.2 percent, according to an NBS statement on its website.

On a year-on-year basis, four cities out of the 70 saw prices go down in November, compared with two in October, reported Xinhua.

Prices of existing homes fell in 51 cities in November, an increase of 13 cities from October, while those in 12 cities stayed flat, according to the statement.

New Delhi: India’s exports will continue to worsen over the coming months as factors affecting overseas shipments such as lacklustre international demand, rising cost of inputs and a weak rupee will continue to plague the sector, according to a survey released Friday.

“A majority (64 percent) of the exporters at the industry and firm level feel that the current and future export conditions will continue to take a toll on their order book position,” according to Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) latest export survey.

Only 33 percent were optimistic about their future prospects, it added.

India’s exports rose by 33.2 percent to $192.7 billion in the first eight months of 2011-12 while imports during the same period increased to $309.5 billion, resulting in a trade deficit of $116.8 billion.

About 37 percent of respondents also felt that there will be a decline in future export prices as compared to the previous year, while 22 percent predicted a decrease in the volume of exports in the next six months.

The turnover of the companies that participated in the survey ranged from less than Rs.4 crore to Rs.8,530 crore per annum. Most of the responses came from the engineering, textile and apparel industries.

An increasing gap between India’s exports and imports has been putting the rupee under pressure. The currency has fallen over 17 percent against the dollar, as per Friday’s closing.

FICCI said exporters were in need of the government’s intervention in arresting the decline of the rupee, controlling prices of raw materials such as cotton, coking coal and iron ore.

A few other suggestions were the introduction of customs green channel facility to provide hassle-free, expeditious clearance based on self-declaration, capping of interest rates for the small and medium enterprises at 7 percent, and free trade agreements (FTA) with the European Union at the earliest.

New York: US stocks ended lower for the third straight day Wednesday amid euro zone concerns and data, Xinhua reported.

On economic front, the US labor department said that import prices rose 0.7 percent in November, the largest increase in seven months.

The increasing import prices added concerns about inflation. Some investors worried that the Federal Reserve will refrain from any new round of Quantitative easing policy given such circumstances.

Meanwhile, the euro zone situation still hovered in investors’ minds. The yields of Italy’s bond rose again and euro hit a 11-month low after German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Tuesday that she opposed raising the lending limit for the euro-zone bailout fund.

Moreover, the latest report showed German economic growth was expected to slow down significantly in the first half of next year, adding concerns that the possible recession in Europe would drag other parts of the world to a downward spiral.

As of Wednesday’s close, the Dow Jones industrial average lost 131.46 points, or 1.10 percent, to 11,823.48. The Standard & Poor’ s 500 dropped 13.91 points, or 1.13 percent, to 1,211.82. The Nasdaq Composite Index declined 39.96 points, or 1.55 percent, to 2,539.31.

As for shares, commodity sector plunged Wednesday and so did material shares. Financial shares, however, seemed a little big strong Wednesday, dropping less than 1 percent.

Commodities also got a hard blow as euro weakened. Crude prices plummeted the most since September as the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries agreed on a higher output ceiling and the euro fell to a 11-month low against the dollar.

In London, Brent crude for January delivery dropped sharply by $4.82, or 4.4 percent to close at $104.68 a barrel. The January contract will expire Thursday, the more actively traded February contract plunged $5.13 to $103.95 a barrel.

On foreign exchange market, the US dollar rose against major currencies in late New York trading as the yield of Italian bonds surged to new euro-era high with the dollar index increasing 0.36 percent to 80.53.

Beijing: China’s foreign direct investment (FDI) dropped by 9.76 percent year-on-year to $8.76 billion in November, the commerce ministry said Thursday.

In November, China approved the setting up of 2,718 foreign-invested companies, down 12.91 percent from a year earlier, Xinhua reported quoting ministry spokesman Shen Danyang.

The November figure brought the total FDI in the first 11 months to $103.77 billion, up 13.15 percent year-on-year.

During the same period, the nation approved the setting up of 25,086 foreign-invested companies, up 3.23 percent year-on-year, said Shen.

Tehran: An unemployed Iranian threw shoes at President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Monday during a ceremony in Mazandaran province, Xinhua reported citing the local Mehr news agency. The shoes, however, did not hit Ahmadinejad.

The incident occurred while Ahmadinejad was delivering a speech at a ceremony in the northern city of Sari.

The 45-year old, who had been dismissed by a weaving factory, managed to get to the front row to complain about his unemployment and then threw his shoes at the president.