HONG KONG: Wealthy shoppers are driving a shift in Hong Kong's retail mix away from the mid-priced merchandise that once attracted local and foreign shoppers to the city, to the high-priced luxury international brands favoured by China visitors.

HONG KONG: To rent or to buy? Cereal Luk, like so many other tenants in Hong Kong, is currently wrestling with this tricky question.

While she is keen to avoid paying rapidly rising rents, buying now seems fraught with risk, since average home prices are approaching the peak levels reached before the 1997 East Asian crisis and luxury-home prices have exceeded those levels.

WASHINGTON: US consumers turned gloomy in March as rising energy prices ignited fears of inflation, a change in mood that could dent global economic growth.

Another report on Tuesday, Mar 29 showed home prices fell for a seventh straight month in January but held above their post-housing bust low of April 2009.

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian Resources Corp Bhd (MRCB) and Ekovest Bhd have established a joint venture company — KL Bund Sdn Bhd (KBSB) which would act as the project delivery partner (PDP) for the multi-billion River of Life project to rehabilitate the Klang River.

KUALA LUMPUR: Metro Kajang Holdings Bhd plans to allocate RM100 million in capital expenditure (capex) for its property development division this year, including the acquisition of new landbank.

SHANGHAI: InterContinental Hotels Group, the world's largest hotel chain by number of rooms, plans to launch a China-specific brand to drive its ambitious expansion in the world's fastest-growing market.

WASHINGTON: US single family home prices fell for the seventh straight month in January, bringing prices to just above April 2009 lows, a closely watched survey said on Tuesday, Mar 29.

KUALA LUMPUR: Petaling Tin Bhd (PTB) recorded a loss of RM1.009 million from a loss of RM671,000 a year ago 1Q2011, it announced on Tuesday, Mar 29. Revenue dropped 60% to RM1.935 million from RM4.91 million the previous year.

"The current quarter's revenue is mainly contributed by the residential development project of 126 units of double-storey link houses," the Group said.

KUALA LUMPUR: More Green Building Index (GBI) rating tools are set for launch this year including the Industrial Rating Tool, the Data Center Rating Tool, the Mall Rating Tool, the Hotel Rating Tool and the Public Health Rating Tool with at least one rating tool to be launched a month.

YTL Land & Development Bhd (March 28, RM1.83)