Salaries falling

Exports from the world's largest exporter were down 36.5% last month compared with July 2008.
Slower car sales to the US, Middle East and Russia were blamed for the decline, which followed June's 35.7% fall.
Figures released last week showed that Japan's economy grew between April and June, ending its year-long recession.
But economists said these latest export figures indicated that reports of a global recovery could have been premature.
"Falls in exports have been moderating in recent months on companies' restocking efforts and government stimulus worldwide, but the July data indicate that the recovery momentum is losing steam," said Seiji Shiraishi, chief economist at HSBC Securities.
"It is questionable whether exports will continue to recover once the stimulus effect runs out."
Exports from the world's largest exporter were down 36.5% last month compared with July 2008.
Slower car sales to the US, Middle East and Russia were blamed for the decline, which followed June's 35.7% fall.
Figures released last week showed that Japan's economy grew between April and June, ending its year-long recession.
But economists said these latest export figures indicated that reports of a global recovery could have been premature.
"Falls in exports have been moderating in recent months on companies' restocking efforts and government stimulus worldwide, but the July data indicate that the recovery momentum is losing steam," said Seiji Shiraishi, chief economist at HSBC Securities.
"It is questionable whether exports will continue to recover once the stimulus effect runs out."
Salaries falling
The Ministry of Finance figures showed that exports to the US fell 39.5% in July from the same month last year, which was worse than the 37.6% fall in June.
Exports to China were down 26.5%, while those going to the European Union fell 45.8%.
Gross domestic product grew 3.7% in the three months from April to June, fuelled by an improvement in exports in the period, but there have been concerns that those figures were boosted by stimulus spending and scrappage schemes.
There are also concerns that domestic demand remains weak, with average salaries falling and the unemployment rate at a six-year high of 5.4%.
Japan's trade surplus still rose, because imports fell 40.8%, largely due to lower energy costs.
The Ministry of Finance figures showed that exports to the US fell 39.5% in July from the same month last year, which was worse than the 37.6% fall in June.
Exports to China were down 26.5%, while those going to the European Union fell 45.8%.
Gross domestic product grew 3.7% in the three months from April to June, fuelled by an improvement in exports in the period, but there have been concerns that those figures were boosted by stimulus spending and scrappage schemes.
There are also concerns that domestic demand remains weak, with average salaries falling and the unemployment rate at a six-year high of 5.4%.
Japan's trade surplus still rose, because imports fell 40.8%, largely due to lower energy costs.

The biggest rise in sales

Orders for goods expected to last more than three years increased 4.9% in July, beating analyst expectations of a 3% gain, said the Commerce Department.
Durable goods orders were lifted by the popularity of the government's "cash for clunkers" car scrappage scheme.
This helped US car orders rise 0.9%, recovering from June and May falls.
At the same time, the annual rate of sales of new US homes rose 9.6% last month, also ahead of market targets.
This was the biggest rise in sales of new houses since September last year.
Boeing boost
The increase in durable goods orders was led by the commercial aviation sector, which pushed total transportation equipment orders up 18%.

Increased aircraft orders led the rise
July's 107% increase in demand for civilian aircraft was thanks primarily to Boeing, which saw its largest increase in monthly orders since August last year.
The 0.9% increase in car orders compared with June's 0.2% fall, and the sharp 8.4% decline in May.
July's rise in auto orders was lifted by the success of the "cash for clunkers" or Car Allowance Rebate Scheme, whereby owners of old cars were given up to $4,500 when they traded in their vehicle for a new model.
The US Transportation Department said on Wednesday that the scheme, which ran from 1 July to 25 August, created 700,000 new car sales.
It added that the total amount of rebates paid out was $2.88bn (£1.8bn).
The White House in turn estimates that the scheme will create or save 42,000 US jobs in the second half of 2009, and boost economic growth between July and September by 0.3% to 0.4%.
Upbeat figures
Durable goods orders excluding transportation items rose 0.8%, which was the third rise in the past four months, and followed a revised 1.3% fall in June.

US home sales have seen their biggest rise in 10 months
Sales of new US homes rose to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 433,000 in July, up from 395,000 in June, said the Commerce Department.
Although this was a 9.6% rise from the month before, sales were still 13% lower than July 2008.
Analysts broadly welcomed the latest durable goods orders and new home sales figures, but cautioned that the US economy still faced a difficult recovery.
"Big ticket items are displaying very normal recovery patterns, signalling that the early phase of this recovery may be stronger than people are anticipating, it doesn't mean it will be sustained," said Stephen Gallagher, chief US economist at Societe Generale in New York.
The latest upbeat official figures come a day after the closely-watched Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index rose by more than expected this month, while a separate study said the rate of decline in US house prices slowed in July.

A battle cry

The farmers are angry over President Cristina Fernandez's refusal to lower the 35% tax.
They have been on strike several times in the past year over the tax, saying government aid has been spent on cities at the expense of the countryside.
The government argues that the farmers make huge profits from soy and the tax helps the wealth be distributed fairly.
'Battle cry'
The farmers said the strike, where they would refuse to sell livestock and grain for eight days, is "more" than a protest.
"It's a battle cry to defend rural life," said Eduardo Buzzi, president of the Argentine Agrarian Federation, one of four farming associations that has led anti-government protests.
"We're willing to do what's necessary to get agricultural policy changed," he added.

We believe China Unicom's high-speed mobile broadband network

The phones are expected to go on sale in China later this year.
State-owned Unicom would be the first Chinese phone company to formally support the iPhone, although many unlocked iPhones are already in use.
China has more than 600 million mobile phone accounts and a deal to introduce the iPhone has been long-awaited.
Apple said the two partners had agreed a "multi-year deal" and expected the launch to be in the fourth quarter of 2009, but gave no financial details.
", coupled with [the iPhone] will create new communication and different experiences for customers in China," said Unicom chairman Chang Xiaobin.
Apple sold 5.2 million iPhones between April and June this year, seven times more than a year earlier.
The sales helped to push quarterly profits at the US technology giant to $1.2bn (£735m).