First there were “Freeters,” then there were “NEETs.” Now, here come the “SNEPs.” No, these aren’t the youthful followers of the latest trends who flock to the Tokyo fashion meccas of Shibuya and Harajuku on weekends, The Wall Street Journal Real Time Japan blog reported. Rather, they are the growing numbers of working-age people who are unemployed, underemployed or socially isolated.

China's communists have to stop discriminating against the workers, The Wall Street Journal reported. A migrant-worker tribe that swelled to 158 million in 2011 from 25 million in 1990 has been a key contributor to China's rapid growth. The move from the farm to the factory expanded the work force, increased productivity and supercharged China's export competitiveness. The fear is that after decades of migration, the store of rural workers is close to exhausted.

In this village in the cornfields outside Beijing, a 74-year-old woman whiles away the time in the forecourt of a local eatery, chatting to the owner stacking chairs around her. She can enjoy an unhurried retirement thanks to the money her daughter sends, the monthly pension her husband collects from his former employer, and, in the past few years, a small pension, now worth 275 yuan ($44) a month, from the Beijing municipal government. Public pensions are fairly new to China’s countryside, The Economist reported in an analysis.

In the debate over what policies can reinvigorate China's economy, which grew at its slowest rate since 2009 in the second quarter, many are questioning whether large commercial banks should lead the charge, The Wall Street Journal reported in an interview. Jiang Chaoliang, the leader of one of the country's four major state-controlled banks—he now has more than six months under his belt as chairman of Agricultural Bank of China Ltd.—spoke with Wen Qiu of Caixin recently about the role of big banks in the current complex economic environment and how to take advantage of this window o

16/4/2012: It started out like "Mission: Impossible" but has ended up more like "Meet the Fockers," minus the comedy. Western governments' emergency interventions in the financial sector during the 2007-2009 crisis and the more recent European turmoil have led to a messy relationship riddled with distrust and misunderstandings. The situation is understandable in the short-term but untenable in the long-run. In the U.S.

Over the next twelve months, expect unsettling developments, EconoMonitor reported. The global crisis is still unfolding, and it could escalate. Weakening growth, rising systemic risks, and contagion-prone markets are likely to enhance economic and financial fragility. We are entering a perilous new phase. First, growth will remain below potential, hindered by excessive debt. Since 2000, total world dues – the debt globally held by governments, corporations, and households – doubled (from 32 to 63 percent of global output), mostly in developed economies.

The roller-coaster ride for Asian currencies, which saw only the yen and yuan post significant gains for the year against the U.S. dollar, is set to continue in 2012, Reuters reported. While Japan actively sought to stem the yen's rise -- drawing U.S. criticism last week -- China intervened to ensure the yuan ended the year at a new high. Both currencies appreciated roughly 5 percent in 2011 against the dollar. The opposite approaches illustrate a dilemma facing Asian policymakers as they try to smooth out foreign exchange rate volatility, which shows no sign of abating in the new year.

India's once-highflying airline industry is encountering serious financial turbulence. The rapid expansion of the commercial-aviation sector in India during the past decade has symbolized the nation's economic progress. But a dire combination of rising costs, sinking ticket fares and high levels of debt has left left carriers reeling and looking for government help. The most pressing crisis surrounds Kingfisher Airlines Ltd., which faces a cash crunch. The carrier, controlled by billionaire liquor tycoon Vijay Mallya, will release quarterly results Tuesday.