Thin Trading in Asia; Hong Kong Has Best Year Since '99

1. Trading was thin on the last day of 2007 in Asia, as a number of markets including Japan were closed. The Hang Seng gained 1.6% in a shortened session to increase its 2007 gain to 39%, its best return since 1999.

2. The yuan doubled its gains to around 7% against the US$ in 2007 and is poised for more appreciation in 2008, but The Wall Street Journal says there is little indication U.S. critics of an undervalued yuan are satisfied.

3. Singapore's growth slowed slightly in 2007 to 7.5%, at the lower-range of the government's forecast, but growth could dip to as low as 4.5% in 2008, depending on the severity of a U.S. downturn.

4. The Taiwan Stock Exchange is in talks to sell up to a 25% stake of itself to the NYSE Euronext (NYX) and Deutsche Boerse AG, according to the exchange's chairman.

5. The WSJ reviews the poor performance of Japanese equities in 2007 (N225 -11%, TOPIX -12%) resulting in relatively cheap valuations.

Related ETFs: iShares MSCI Hong Kong Index (EWH), iShares MSCI Singapore Index (EWS), iShares MSCI Japan Index (EWJ), iShares S&P/TOPIX 150 Index (ITF)