A Chinese economist said on Monday that economy of the country would not crash but a shrinking trade surplus will likely keep its currency, the yuan, from appreciating over the next year or two.

It would be hard to argue that the yuan was undervalued when the trade surplus was only 2 percent of China’s GDP, Huang Yiping, economics professor at the China Center for Economic Research at Peking University, told a conference in New York.

“In the long run I think the currency should still appreciate but the potential currency appreciation might be more limited in the short term,” Huang said. “Be careful what you look for from China. I suspect the currency will be going down for a little while.” “Rebalancing is happening in China,” Huang said, citing a slowdown in housing and a dearth of solid investment opportunities in the Chinese stock market. “You don’t really want to keep your money in China.”

According to a survey released on Wednesday, Netflix Inc and Gap Inc were among the worst performers in customer satisfaction among the largest online retailers this holiday season.

The survey by ForSee found Overstock.com Inc came last out of the 40 largest online retailers, with a rating of 72 out of 100 and was down 4 points from last year. Amazon led ForSee’s survey for the 14th consecutive time.

ForSee said customer satisfaction is important for retailers as it leads to higher sales, more loyalty, and increased word-of-mouth recommendations.

“Netflix totally misread its customer base and is paying the price, damaging its brand among both consumers and investors,” said Larry Freed, chief executive officer of ForSee.

Global Fund, the world’s largest backer of the fight against AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria, recently said it was cutting new grants for countries battling the diseases and bringing in a new manager to ensure better administration.

“Substantial budget challenges in some donor countries, compounded by low interest rates, have significantly affected the resources available for new grant funding,” the Global Fund said in a statement after its board met in Accra, Ghana.

From Reuters.com:

The public-private Global Fund, based in Geneva, accounts for around a quarter of international financing to fight HIV and AIDS, as well as the majority of funds to fight TB and malaria. Founded in 2002, it raises money from donors every three years.

To date, it has committed $22.4 billion in 150 countries to support large-scale prevention, treatment and care programs against the three diseases. But in recent years it has struggled to persuade international donors to pledge enough money for its work, and has faced accusations of lax regulation of money.

The Fund commissioned a review of its procedures in March after reporting “grave misuse of funds” in four recipient nations, a move that prompted some donors such as Germany and Sweden to freeze their donations.

“As a result, the Global Fund will only be able to finance essential services for on-going programs that come to their conclusion before 2014,” Global Fund added.

On Tuesday, Bank of America Corp reversed course and scrapped plans to charge a monthly debit fee of $5, handing a victory to consumers and protesters angry with big banks.

The bank said the move was in response to customer feedback and competition.

From news.yahoo.com:

“It’s a sign of consumer power in action,” said Norma Garcia, manager of the financial services program for Consumers Union. “This is a sign of the marketplace working.”

Last week JPMorgan Chase & Co and Wells Fargo & Co decided to cancel test programs, while SunTrust Banks Inc and Regions Financial Corp said on Monday that they would end monthly charges and reimburse customers.

Banks began charging the fees to make up revenue lost to a law that slashes the fees they charge retailers when consumers swipe their cards.

“This is what the movement would consider a very, very small first step on rectifying an oppressive dynamic between the financial services industry and the 99 percent,” said Ed Needham, a spokesman for the Occupy Wall Street movement.

Asian stocks skidded lower on Thursday after being stung by the pessimistic assessment of the Federal Reserve about the U.S. economy and the perceived ineffectiveness of measures taken to kick start growth again.

The benchmark oil fell below $85 a barrel while the dollar strengthened against the euro and the yen.

From news.yahoo.com:

Investors were beginning to despair over the U.S. economy despite an announcement by the Fed of a new bond-buying program meant to stimulate lending and growth.

“What we could or should do has already been done — and it still hasn’t supported the market. Nothing can help the market. So it feels very dangerous,” said Linus Yip, strategist at First Shanghai Securities in Hong Kong.

“I expect panic selling,” he said. Then, “hopefully the market will find its short-term bottom.”

Energy shares in Australia plummeted amid fears of a global economic slowdown. BHP Billiton, the world’s largest mining company, lost 4.3 percent. Rival Rio Tinto Ltd. plunged 6.8 percent. OZ Minerals dropped 7.2 percent.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 slumped 1.6 percent to 8,598.32 and South Korea’s Kospi slid 2.6 percent to 1,806.62. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng dived 3.6 percent to 18,138.32. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was 2.2 percent down at 3,984.40.