Donald Tsang in internet Q&A on policy address

Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen will discuss and answer questions about his latest policy address from 7pm to 8pm through a live question-and-answer session on the internet. The event will be broadcast live on Facebook and the website of the Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups. Questions filed range from whether the government will increase the number of university places in the city, to how is it going to improve air quality and medical services.

All eyes on mainland's third-quarter figures

The National Statistics Bureau will hold a press conference on the economic data for the third quarter in Beijing tomorrow. Reining in inflation while maintaining economic growth is an uphill task, Premier Wen Jiabao said recently, and all eyes are on how the mainland economy is faring in the third quarter as the global economy braces for a major downturn.

Obama boards bus on crusade for jobs plan

President Barack Obama clambers back aboard his campaign bus to clock up more kilometres on his crusade to force the US Congress to pass his jobs plan and to ease his own perilous political plight. His sleek, armoured bus will spend three days cruising Virginia and North Carolina - traditionally southern, conservative territory, but states that he nudged into the Democratic column in his 2008 White House triumph. The bus tour, a fabled ritual of American politics, will be Obama's first since Republicans and several moderate Democrats blocked passage of his US$447 billion jobs plan in the Senate.

Shrinking profits expected for Citi, Wells Fargo

Citi and Wells Fargo both unveil third-quarter earnings, but profits are expected to show a significant quarterly fall after deal volumes fell and investors fled the euro-zone crisis. JPMorgan kicked off the US bank earnings season last week with a 4 per cent fall in earnings.

Chavez heads for Cuba for medical check-up

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez travels to Cuba to undergo a thorough medical exam after multiple chemotherapy visits to treat his cancer. The firebrand leftist leader had previously indicated he would receive the check-up to confirm there are no malignant cells in his body. Chavez has undergone four rounds of chemotherapy since an operation, but little information has been provided about the nature of the cancer, leaving uncertainty about the state of his health. Chavez, in power since 1999, has maintained that he will recover in time to win re-election next year.