Canada: January wholesale trade leap confirms recovery
17 March 2010 - Canadian wholesale trade jumped by a much greater-than-expected 3.0 per cent in January from December, providing more proof that the recovery is well underway. The increase, the strongest since the 5.0 per cent leap recorded in December 2006, was far larger than the 0.5 per cent rise forecast by market operators. (more)

Ethiopia wants to attract tourists from China, India
17 March 2010 - Ethiopia hopes to develop growing business ties with China, India, and Turkey to attract middle class visitors from those countries and boost its largely untapped tourism sector. The country managed to protect its tourism earnings during the global downturn. Some 430,000 tourists visited Ethiopia in 2009 and the government aims at one million visitors in 10 years. (more)

India: BSE Sensitive Index set to rise 11 per cent by end-2010 - poll
17 March 2010 - The BSE Sensitive Index was set for solid gains in 2010, driven by earnings optimism and supported by robust economic growth, a Reuters poll found. Asia's third-largest economy will expand by more than 7.2 per cent in the year to March 2010, with growth accelerating to 8.5 per cent in 2010-11 and 9 per cent in 2011-12, according to government forecasts. (more)

Small, energy-efficient vehicles help China's Build Your Dreams profits soar
17 March 2010 - BYD, which stands for Build Your Dreams, the Chinese automaker with backing from billionaire Warren Buffett, says its net profit more than tripled last year as the company's F3 sedan topped the country's list of best-selling autos. In 2008, BYD became the first automaker to launch mass production of a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle that's sold in China and can be charged off a standard home outlet. (more)

South Africa's Zuma bids to end Zimbabwe crisis
17 March 2010 - South African leader Jacob Zuma met Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai on Wednesday in an attempt to resolve a decade-long political crisis that helped drag Zimbabwe into economic ruin. Mugabe and opposition leader Tsvangirai formed a unity government last year to end a stalemate over disputed elections, which has managed to stabilize the economy after 10 years of contraction. South Africa's Zuma is trying to resolve continued conflict within Zimbabwe's two-party government to speed up progress and further stabilize the country. (more)

US, India move to strengthen trade, investment ties
17 March 2010 - The United States and India signed an agreement on Wednesday to strengthen trade and investment ties, following through on a pledge leaders of the two countries made last year. 'There is almost limitless potential for growth in trade between our two countries and that can contribute to economic recovery and job creation in the United States and continued economic growth in India,' US Trade Representative Ron Kirk said. (more)

Yemen Shi'ite rebels free scores of prisoners
17 March 2010 - Seen as a step forward, Yemeni Shi'ite rebels freed at least 170 government soldiers and tribal fighters on Wednesday after Sanaa accused them of dragging their feet on implementing a truce deal to end a northern war, both sides said. The prisoners were handed over in the northern province of Saada, the scene of most of the fighting, and would be moved to Sanaa on Thursday, Al Arabiya television reported. (more)