The government yesterday, reversing an earlier decision, decided to charter two flights to bring back Hongkongers stranded in Thailand.

David Yik and his wife, along with hundreds of other Hongkongers, just wanted to come home.

Financial institutions insisted in the Legislative Council (LegCo) yesterday that they have given support to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), but business groups are painting a contradictory picture.

Financial Secretary John Tsang said yesterday that the government deficit this financial year will definitely be more than the HK$7.5 billion he predicted last year.

Hong Kong is at risk of a pandemic influenza outbreak in the near future, and corporations should plan accordingly to minimize economic loss, experts said at a health forum yesterday.

World-acclaimed Chinese opera artists will put on a special educational performance tonight in their first Hong Kong tour.

Broadcasting Authority OKs nicotine-therapy ads

People of Hong Kong may have reined in their spending amid the deteriorating economy as the city's retail sales volume in October fell 4.3 percent. And the market condition is likely to remain difficult in the coming months, the government said yesterday.

Hong Kong purchasing managers' index (PMI) in November fell to its lowest level since the SARS outbreak in 2003, amid bleak economic outlook that the city's economy is likely to worsen .

Local property agency Ricacorp Properties released a research report yesterday, saying that the housing market transactions registered in the Land Registry in November, which reflected the local property market situation in October, tumbled to a record low of 3,576. The total turnover amounted to only HK$10.5 billion, its lowest level since the second half of 2003.

China Resources Gas Group (formerly China Resources Logic Ltd) yesterday announced that the company has sold its cement business to its parent group China Resources (Holdings) for HK$293 million, after acquiring the segment with HK$217 million earlier this year.

Hong Kong shares rose 1.59 percent to a three-week high as property stocks gained on hopes of better sales, while news that China's Yunnan province would buy 1 million tons of base metals lifted metal stocks.

Belgium clips Ping An hope for Fortis compensation

Editor's note: Just back from visiting 25 vineyards in Chile, South America, Maggie Beale brings the latest news of the wines that UK, Canada and the USA are lapping up, in a new series over the next few weeks.

It's not the right time to buy stocks as the impact of the global credit crunch hasn't been fully reflected on the values of Asian stocks, said BNP Paribas. The investment bank, however, has picked seven Hong Kong-listed stocks for long-term holding.

Australian investment bank Macquarie Group Ltd, a small player in the Asian mutual funds sector, has added funds staff and planned new products in the expectation that Asia's asset management industry will recover sooner than those elsewhere from the global downturn.

While the collapse of the international financial sector and the credit markets has caused a lot of market volatility in recent months, investors are looking for the next possible bubble that could push the US economy into deeper recession. It could be the credit card debts.

China South Locomotive

Surprising to some, minor earthquakes are actually more common in Hong Kong than in places such as Sichuan, which was leveled by a massive quake in May. But the local tremors are so light they are rarely felt.