Government Spending

Legislators want Tsang to start spending

4 Mar 2013

Pan-democrats have launched a petition urging Financial Secretary John Tsang Chun-wah to start spending Hong Kong's HK$1.38 trillion in reserves on tackling social problems.

Financial Secretary John Tsang defends his budget amid criticism

3 Mar 2013

He emphasised the 16 per cent increase in government spending over the next financial year, saying it was rare for a government anywhere to be lifting expenditure.

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America's high-stakes gamble on spending cuts

3 Mar 2013

A decade of budget deficits run up in war and economic crisis has saddled the government with a US$16 trillion debt. Now the government is about to start cutting spending in some programmes,...

Barack Obama wants 'balanced approach' instead of sequester

3 Mar 2013

US President Barack Obama yesterday urged Congress to replace automatic across-the-board spending cuts known as the sequester with what he called "a balanced approach" combining "smart" cuts with...

White House calls on Republican Ray LaHood to back spending cut delay

24 Feb 2013

In a surprise and, at times combative, appearance at the White House press briefing, departing Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood painted a dismal picture of delayed flights, shuttered control...

Opinion

Wang Xiangwei

Super ministries may not be the right answer for mainland China

Alex Lo

Church developers remain unbowed by government rules

George Chen

A house is not a home until it becomes affordable

Kerry defends foreign affairs spending as cuts loom

Speaking ahead of across-the-board budget reductions set to kick in on March 1, Kerry argued that the slightly more than 1 per cent of the federal budget that Washington spends on foreign affairs...

Obama needs to find consensus in second term

A second-term US president's first state-of-the-union address after re-election is traditionally a rallying cry to unite the country behind a common goal and build a legacy on the foundations of...

Land sales and stamp duty push up city's revenue

On his blog yesterday, Financial Secretary John Tsang Chun-wah said he was always being asked by friends whether he intentionally underestimated revenue to restrict growth in government...

CHINA

Fujian to spend 326 billion yuan on projects to boost ties with Taiwan

The sum is to be spent on 368 major projects, including 150 new developments, the Fujian government said on its website. Sectors to be invested in include agriculture, irrigation, transport...

MONITOR

Government overstates cruise terminal benefits by 25 times

The front page of yesterday's South China Morning Post carried a story warning that the Hong Kong government is overstating the economic benefits of its new cruise ship terminal at Kai Tak by a...

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BRIEFS

Briefs, January 6, 2013

The PLA air force yesterday said no Myanmese jets had entered Chinese territory during raids on Kachin rebels.