Govt agency formed to combat cyber threats
(SINGAPORE) Local authorities are taking the fight against terrorism beyond physical borders to cyberspace with the formation of a new national security agency.

For more, see http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/sub/news/story/0,4574,352647,00.html?

Banking headed for less lucrative days: Koh
(SINGAPORE) DBS Bank chairman Koh Boon Hwee says the banking business in the future will not be as lucrative as it was before the onset of the current global recession, sparked by reckless lendings.

For more, see http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/sub/news/story/0,4574,352640,00.html?

Japan’s Tankan Survey Shows Companies Plan Deeper Spending Cuts
Oct. 1 (Bloomberg) -- Japanese companies plan to deepen investment cuts as profits slump, inhibiting the recovery from the nation’s worst postwar recession, the central bank’s Tankan survey showed.

For more, see http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601068&sid=a2QyeaYRLbAU

Japan prices continue record fall
Japan's core consumer prices dropped 2.4% in August year-on-year, the fourth successive month of record falls.

For more, see http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8279832.stm

Temps paid less for same work
Although an estimated 41 percent of nonregular workers are doing work on par with that of regular employees, only 16 percent are getting the same pay, a labor ministry study said Wednesday.

For more, see http://search.japantimes.co.jp/mail/nb20091001a6.html

Hospitals urged to halt loss of female doctors
A Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry study group has compiled a booklet on workplace improvements medical organizations need to make to prevent female doctors from quitting during pregnancy or child rearing.

For more, see http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20091001f2.html

Experts say China's one-child policy will undermine country's economic rise
China has the world's largest population of 1.3 billion. Its labour force is more than double that of the US and the EU combined.

And by 2020, said some observers, China will overtake the US as the world's largest manufacturer.

But under the one-child policy, the country is likely to grow old before it grows rich.

For more, see http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/eastasia/view/1008359/1/.html