KFC raising some prices at Chinese stores
U.S. fast food chain KFC Corp. said it had raised the prices of some of the food items it sells in China by 0.50 yuan to 1 yuan per item effective yesterday because of higher costs, Xinhua reported.
Xinhua said this was the first nationwide price hike by the Yum Brands Inc. unit since August 2008. Labor costs and food, raw material and energy prices had risen sharply in the more than two-year period since the last hike, it quoted KFC as saying in a statement. McDonald s Corp. raised the prices of its products in China in November.
Lack of supervision leads to deceptive pricing
MORE than half of Chinese respondents to an online poll think authorities failure to supervise should be blamed for retailers deceptive pricing practices.
The survey was taken last week after Carrefour s China stores were caught cheating on prices. Some 53.3 percent of those polled said a lack of market supervision led retailers to dare to engage in deceptive pricing. The survey, initiated by Sina.com, a major Chinese Web portal, had polled nearly 10,000 people by midnight Saturday.
Xinjiang to invest US$4.6b in airports
CHINA S far western Xinjiang region planned to invest 30 billion yuan (US$4.56 billion) in airport construction between 2011 and 2015, local authorities said Sunday.
The plan included the construction of four new airports in Tazhong, Shache, Loulan and Tumshuq, airport relocations in Shihezi, Qiemo and Fuyun, and airport expansions in Urumqi, Hotan and Korla, the local civil aviation administration said in a statement.
Central bank: Fed easing ineffective, dangerous
QUANTITATIVE easing by the U.S. Federal Reserve and other central banks could not address fundamental economic problems but could lead to excessive global liquidity and competitive currency depreciation, China s central bank said Sunday.
The central bank said the Fed s monetary easing was pushing up international commodity prices and asset prices in emerging markets, including China. Quantitative easing policy cannot fundamentally address economic problems, and it may cause excessive liquidity on a global scale as well as risks of competitive currency depreciation, the bank said in its 59-page report. It is creating imported inflation and short-term capital inflows, pressuring emerging markets, it said.
