Deals in high-end homes increase

BEIJING,May 7-- The buying sentiment for high-end residential projects continued to climb in Shanghai last month as more home buyers regained their confidence as the market recovered gradually.

A total of 672 units of new apartments, costing more than 30,000 yuan (4,392 U.S. dollars) per square meter, were sold in the city last month, an increase of 44 percent from March, according to the latest research by E-House (China) Holdings Ltd.

Maison des Artistes, a high-end residential project located in the Gubei area, could be a good example. The project, developed by Hutchison Whampoa, sold 56 units last month compared to 46 units in March and 11 units in February. Regency Park, another luxury residential project in Pudong's Huamu area and developed by the same company, also saw extremely good sales recently.

E-House statistics showed that 24 townhouses, priced between 13 million yuan and 15 million yuan each, were sold out in just three days after they were launched on April 25.

Meanwhile, a similar trend was seen in the local second-hand market in which more contracts involving luxury apartments were concluded during the period.

"Deals of 5 million yuan and above were secured last month at our branches, particularly in prime locations such as Xintiandi and Biyun where nearly half of the deals reached last month were in that category," said Ma Ji, head of research at Shanghai Centaline Property Consultants Ltd, which operates the city's largest real estate brokerage chain. "And we expect the strong momentum to ride through May."

The transaction volume of used apartments priced between 30,000 yuan and 40,000 yuan per square meter jumped more than 50 percent in March at Centaline, according to earlier statistics.

(Source: Shanghai Daily)

Eurozone retail sales slightly down in March

Special
Report: Global Financial Crisis

BRUSSELS, May 6 (Xinhua) -- Retail trade volume in the euro zone fell 0.6
percent month on month in March, the European Union's (EU) statistics bureau
Eurostat said Wednesday.

In March, food, drinks and tobacco sales decreased 1.4 percent on a monthly
basis in the 16-nation euro area, while the non-food sector remained unchanged,
Eurostat said.

Year on year, the eurozone retail sales slumped 4.2 percent in March, with
food, drinks and tobacco down 5.2 percent and the non-food sector down 1.9
percent.

Meanwhile in the 27-nation EU, retail sales dropped 0.3 percent from the
previous month and by 3.1 percent from year-ago levels.

Statistics showed that among the EU member states for which data were
available, total retail trade fell in ten, rose in six and remained unchanged in
Denmark and Romania on a monthly basis.

The highest increase was observed in Slovenia, which was 6.8 percent, while
the largest decrease was in Lithuania with a drop of 4.3 percent.

Retail sales are an indication of household demand, one of the three major
economic drivers. With the European economy in crisis and a rising jobless rate,
analysts warned retail sales will shrink as private consumption is set to
fall.

Chinese equities gain 0.35% to 8-month high

Special Report:Global Financial Crisis

BEIJING, April 15 (Xinhua) -- Chinese equities ended 0.35 percent higher Wednesday, continuing the upward trend for the fifth consecutive trading day, and hitting a new high since early August last year.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index finished the day at 2,536.06 points, up 8.88 points or 0.35 percent, from the previous close.

The Shenzhen Component Index went up 0.48 percent, or 46.4 points, to close at 9,724.58.

Gains outnumbered losses by 524 to 320 in Shanghai and 468 to 260 in Shenzhen.

Combined turnover expanded to 268.93 billion yuan (39.35 billion U.S. dollars) Wednesday from 252.32 billion yuan on the previous trading day.

The Shanghai Composite Index opened 0.5 percent lower at 2514.59 points, echoing the overnight Wall Street losses. Dealers said investors were confident as some economic recovery signs had emerged.

The Shanghai Composite Index has gained more than 37 percent from the beginning of this year.

Coal shares rose across the board on expectation of coal price rise. Datong Coal Industry Co., Ltd. surged 6.19 percent to 26.94 yuan, while Yanzhou Coal Mining Co., Ltd. jumped 4.8 percent to 16.59 yuan.

China Southern Airlines, the country's leading carrier, lost 1.75 percent to 6.17 yuan as it announced Wednesday that it lost 4.83 billion yuan in 2008 on high fuel costs, sluggish traffic business and several natural disasters. The figure was worse than market expectation, dealers said.

China Life lost 1.93 percent to 24.9 yuan after the country's leading insurer reported Tuesday night that its first-quarter
premium income reached 104 billion yuan, only 1.8 billion higher from a
year ago.