A key reason for the Aussie's status as a favourite in the speculative community is that it is seen as providing investors with exposure to Asian markets and booming commodity prices.

The rise of Asian millionaires is being tracked by the industry that manages the fortunes of rich individuals, with banks shifting senior staff to Singapore and Hong Kong to chase new clients.

Chinese authorities announced plans on June 19 to make the exchange rate more flexible, while ruling out a large, one-off move in the exchange rate.

Monthly Japanese shipments held steady in March 2010 in a sign that global demand, particularly from Asia, is still expanding, lending support to the country's export-dependent economy.

"Asia is a very strategic region for Spansion in the fast growing embedded electronics markets," said John Kispert, president and CEO of Spansion. "With the addition of SL Chan, we have strengthened our team with a veteran sales and marketing executive who will be a key asset for the company's new business strategy..."

Japan enjoyed its biggest on-year increase in exports in almost 30 years last month. The value of exports rose 40.9% in January 2010 from a year earlier, the fastest pace since February 1980.

German exports in 2009 were equivalent to US$1,121.3 billion which compared with the US$1,201.7 billion exported by China. China's goods exports also suffered badly last year, falling by 16% over the course of the year, the first time they had declined since 1978.

Japan's exports grew for the first time in 15 months in December 2009, according to the finance ministry. Its exports to China expanded 42.8% to 1.1 trillion yen in the month.

Chinese authorities have signaled that bank lending would slow significantly in 2010, the latest in a series of moves intended to forestall inflation and stave off bubbles in the stock and property markets.

China was fast with its stimulus program...even though the country has been climbing nicely out of recession, the government still plans to spend the full US$600 billion of stimulus money.

"China's exports largely consist of low-value everyday goods like cheap electrical appliances and textiles - but that's a long way from where it wants to be..."

China exported US$957 billion of goods in the first 10 months of 2009, compared with US$917 billion for Germany, according to customs data compiled by Global Trade Information Services.

"We have seen this in Japan in the 1980's. I certainly hope that China is not going to repeat the mistakes that Japan made 20-30 years ago," said Dong Tao, chief Asia economist of Credit Suisse.

Japanese exports in November 2009 fell at the slowest pace in more than a year on strong Asian demand, easing concern about the strength of the country's economic recovery.

Loss-making foundry Tower Semiconductor, which trades as TowerJazz, has announced it plans to transfer "manufacturing know-how and certain equipment" to support an un-named Asian company ramp up production.

In January, China's exports to its Southeast Asia neighbors counted for around one third of that to the EU. Eight months later, China's exports to Asean countries had grown to the equivalent of about half of exports to the EU.

The International Monetary Fund has warned Asian nations not to withdraw their stimulus spending too soon.

CEO Mike Splinter said that his company must respond to the fundamental changes in the markets it serves.

Governments across Asia have launched massive stimulus packages focused on renewable energy in recent months, and some analysts think the new infusion of cash could reshape a solar industry reeling from the economic downturn.

Asia's governments must spend more on social safety nets and reduce their reliance on export-driven growth as they grapple with an economic meltdown that will keep tens of millions trapped in poverty, finance officials said Sunday.

Excluding China, which will announce first-quarter GDP figures later this week, the World Bank now expects developing countries in the region to grow by 1.2% in 2009, down from an estimate of 4.8% in 2008.

The 10 countries, including China and Thailand, will grow by 5.3% this year, half of the growth seen in 2007, the World Bank said in a report.

Hutchison Whampoa has reported a 42% fall in net profit but sounded an upbeat note as losses narrowed at its 3G mobile phone operations. The Hong Kong-based oil-to-telecoms firm said annual profits totalled HK$17.7bn (US$2.28 billion), compared with HK$30.6bn in 2007.

Many Asian countries are handing out cash and vouchers to get people spending again. But real economic recovery may take a lot more. One-off payments aren't about to alter lifelong saving habits. To encourage higher spending, governments really need to improve public health, education, and retirement benefits—initiatives that would take years to kick in.

Asian stocks have fallen, taking their lead from weaker US stocks, which have hit a fresh 12-year low.

Lord Malloch-Brown, the foreign office minister, said the emerging economies were more important than ever in tackling the world's problems. "[Asian countries] want to know that we are not just going to ask Asia to help with the recovery then go back to our bad old transatlantic ways."

Asian stocks fell sharply amid renewed fears over the health of the global financial sector and after US stocks hit a near 12-year low.

With the global recession hanging over economies in Asia, market researchers at IDC expect overall IT services growth in the region to slow down, forcing organizations to move back to basics with an increased focus on cost management and less so on business transformation projects.

Asia's export-driven economies had benefited more than any other region from America's consumer boom, so its manufacturers were bound to be hit hard by the sudden downward lurch. Asia's low rate of consumption and borrowing means that it has huge scope to make consumption the engine of growth over the next decade.

Battered Asian memory chip makers will get some respite from oversupply in the long term after German chipmaker Qimonda filed for insolvency but the industry's recovery depends on a pick-up in demand.

Asian stocks fell for the first time in four days, led by banks and technology companies, as a record slump in Japanese factory production and lower profit forecasts renewed concern the global slowdown is deepening.

Asia's largest economies showed stark new evidence on Thursday of contagion from the global financial crisis as China reported its slowest growth in seven years and Japan's central bank admitted it faces two years of contraction and deflation.

Asia is being hit by a financial tsunami that is not of its doing but which will hurt it all the same. Unlike the Asian crisis of 1997, which was caused by poor macroeconomic policies and weak financial systems in the region, this time most Asian countries are being affected despite strong macroeconomic fundamentals and sound banks and corporations. Regional growth will decline in 2008 and 2009 by as much as 2 to 3 percentage points, hurting many businesses and millions of people whose lost jobs will send them back into poverty.