The Great Depression in 1929, the Pearl Harbor attack in 1941 and the dot-com bubble bursting in 2001 – all these events happened during the year of the snake. So, should we be worried about what 2013 - the latest Chinese Year of the Black Water Snake – has in store for us? The annual Feng Shui Index brought out by Asian brokerage CLSA gives some clues.
One thing is already clear about Australia's unprecedented eight-month election campaign: it won't be a popularity contest. Prime Minister Julia Gillard, regularly described on talkback radio and in conservative media as untrustworthy and desperately clinging to power, is set to be trounced in the September election if opinion polls are to be believed.
Videos are the way forward as China's younger generation "gives up" on TV, the CEO of Sohu.com, which runs one of the country's most popular online video site, told CNBC on Tuesday.