Talking points

Our editors will be looking ahead today to these developing stories ...

Court to rule on Bali bombing accused

A court in Jakarta is expected to deliver its verdict in the murder trial of Umar Patek (pictured), who is accused of masterminding attacks on two nightclubs on the Indonesian resort island of Bali in October 2002 that killed 202 people, including 11 Hong Kong residents, as well as on churches in Jakarta on Christmas Eve 2000. When the trial began in February, prosecutors said they would seek the death penalty but later asked for a life sentence, arguing that Patek's remorse and co-operation should spare him from death.

Party in Beijing holds delayed congress

The Communist Party in Beijing will hold its city congress today after weeks of delay raised concerns that the all-important 18th national congress, at which a new generation of leaders will be chosen, would have to be postponed. The local congress will elect representatives to attend the 18th party congress later this year, probably in the autumn.

St Petersburg forum to discuss global economy

The three-day St Petersburg International Economic Forum starts today, bringing together world business leaders to debate economic issues and the role of emerging economic powers such as Russia. Participants include Xavier Rolet, CEO of the London Stock Exchange; Ian Read, chairman of the board and CEO of US pharmaceuticals group Pfizer; Lou Jiwei, chairman and CEO of the China Investment Corporation, and Oleg Deripaska, chairman and chief executive of Rusal, the Hong Kong-listed Russian aluminium producer.

A fresh take on markets from Mark Mobius

Investment guru Mark Mobius (pictured) returns to the Foreign Correspondents' Club to give a lunchtime talk on 'emerging and frontier markets'. The FCC's website says Mobius will also elaborate on his new book, The Little Book of Emerging Markets, and give 'a fresh take on his investment philosophy'. Mobius is executive chairman of the Templeton Emerging Markets Group, which manages more than US$50 billion worth of emerging market equities for Franklin Templeton Investments. When he spoke at the FCC in August last year he defined emerging markets as a place 'from which you may not emerge in the event of an emergency'.

Statistics service to report May CPI

The Census and Statistics Department will release its consumer price index figures for May. Last month, it put the year-on-year rate of increase in the composite CPI for April at 5.6 per cent, unchanged from March. A department spokesman said at the time that inflation was likely to decline in the coming months, as domestic and external price pressures had receded in a difficult economic environment.

Palace Museum to sign leisure department deal

Representatives of the Palace Museum, which houses exhibits from Beijing's Forbidden City, will sign a letter of intent with the Leisure and Cultural Services Department. The museum plans to send artefacts to Hong Kong, and the agreement will stipulate arrangements for their management. The signing ceremony will be attended by the museum's director, Shan Jixiang (left), the former director of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, who in January took over at the museum from Zheng Xinmiao after several scandals relating to damage to artefacts and lax security.