Domenica De Pasquale's grandmother, matriarch of the Australian family that founded Nanda Pasta

'My sister was 'rosebud' and I was 'frangipani,'' said Ms. De Pasquale.

So when Ms. De Pasquale decided to build a set of luxury apartments on the site of the old family beach house, she named it the Gold Coast Frangipani in memory of her grandmother. The project was completed in 2009.

The property is near both the serenity of Burleigh Head National Park, a coastal rain forest, and the hustle-bustle of Surfers Paradise-as the name suggests, Australia's best surfing beach.

The two-story penthouse apartment with soaring glass windows has three bedrooms, two bathrooms and a parents' retreat; a rear deck features a spa and a barbecue. The oceanfront terrace, eight meters by four, has a glass balustrade and bifold doors. Ms. De Pasquale lives in a similar-size apartment on the building's ground floor.

An open living room includes a designer kitchen with marble walls, Gaggenau appliances and a wine refrigerator. There's an island counter (or, as the Australians call it, 'bench top'), made of Corian, for food preparation or in-kitchen eating.

The open plan makes it easy to entertain for big parties, says Ms. De Pasquale. 'I had a sit-down lunch for 30 people on Easter Sunday this year. The table extended from the balcony all the way to the middle of the living room.'

The property includes a 20-meter-wide stretch of beach and an infinity-edge pool shared by all apartments. The exterior facade of aluminium screens depicting frangipani leaves provides a breezeway and shade at the rear of the building. A basement car park offers each apartment three parking spaces as well as private storage space.

Natural materials in the living areas and bathrooms include travertine stone, marble and timber. Louvered windows in each bathroom offer sea views.

Over the past 10 years, Stuart Craig has designed a sprawling gothic boarding-school campus

For the seventh Potter film, 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1,' released Friday, Mr. Craig, 68, faced a new challenge: None of the action takes place at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, the primary setting of the first six Harry Potter movies. Mr. Craig needed to create nearly 2 1/2 hours' worth of new settings, and give the franchise a darker look. The film unfolds like a road movie, with the characters traveling through bleak, barren countryside and facing mortal dangers in burning houses and cobwebbed castles.

At the movie's London premiere last week, Mr. Craig noted with satisfaction that the audience visibly shuddered when Harry jumped into an icy pond in a lifeless, moonlit forest. 'It was giving an extreme sense of discomfort,' he said.

In reality, the scene was shot entirely at Leavesden Studios in Watford, near London, where all the Harry Potter movies were made. Leavesden is also home to the fictional Ministry of Magic, which is supposed to sit beneath a real street in the London government district of Whitehall. To create the ministry, which first appeared in 'Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix' in 2007, Mr. Craig studied underground structures such as the London and Moscow subway stations.

For the new film, Mr. Craig added a towering monument to the ministry's atrium. The Soviet-style sculpture shows wizards crushing cowering muggles -- people without magic powers -- and bears an engraving that says 'Magic Is Might.' The totalitarian aesthetic, Mr. Craig says, highlights the theme of a world dominated by evil. He used seemingly long, winding corridors to give the ministry a Kafkaesque feel. As the characters explore the building, including an upstairs office and a basement courtroom, viewers soon feel as if they know their way around the place.

Mr. Craig designed his first set as a teenager in England, when he painted the Tower of London as a background for a school production of Gilbert and Sullivan's 'The Yeomen of the Guard.' Years later, in 1983, Mr. Craig won his first Academy Award for his work on 'Gandhi.' He won two subsequent Oscars for 'Dangerous Liaisons' and 'The English Patient.'

One afternoon in 1999, Mr. Craig was decorating the bedroom of his soon-to-be-born grandson when director Chris Columbus called and invited him to Los Angeles to discuss a film version of the first Potter novel. Mr. Craig rushed out to buy the book and got on the plane. Reading it, he felt 'a slight sense of panic.' He had to invent a complex world, based in reality but with magical elements. Many readers had firm images of that world already in their heads.

For the Hogwarts Castle, he studied Norman and Gothic cathedrals. The school's Great Hall was based on Christ Church College at Oxford. In the first six movies, the Hogwarts exterior that audiences see is a scale model built at 1/24th of the size shown on screen, that sat inside the studio, a former aircraft hangar. For the final film, 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2,' scheduled for release next year, Hogwarts was made digitally. Visual effects experts scanned the model and then scanned surfaces of real buildings, including cracks and crumbling masonry. Those images were then laid over those of the model, creating a more weathered texture and more architectural detail. The improved castle walls allowed for more action close to the building -- essential for the final film, which revolves around Hogwarts.

Heavy rain this past weekend in Hong Kong may have damped the mood

The first thing you need to know about the Senz umbrella is that it looks odd. Shorter in the front and wider on the sides than a traditional umbrella, with an extended 'tail' in the back, it looks like a spare part of a bat costume left over from Halloween. From personal experience, we can say that many onlookers will stare when you take it out; a few will even point.
But according to the Dutch team led by an industrial-design student that spent two years developing the Senz umbrella─with some help from the Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands─this is the way an umbrella should look if it's to function properly. Apparently, the asymmetric shape is more aerodynamic and provides better coverage for couples sharing cover. And there's no arguing with the convenience of the sturdy handle, which pushes up to open the umbrella.

Once the Senz is open, there are instructions to follow: A small stamp on the underside of one of the front panels should be kept pointed against the wind; when used correctly, the instructions claim, the umbrella can withstand winds of up to 100 kilometers an hour. But this proved more troublesome than expected, as erratic shifts in winds meant constantly having to turn the umbrella. Still, take it for all in all, it did seem to provide more rain coverage than a standard umbrella.

When it was launched in 25 countries world-wide, all 10,000 Senz umbrellas sold out in just nine days. This year, the Dutch company is hoping Christmas holiday gifts will boost sales of the Senz in Hong Kong, where it is available in Lane Crawford and local retailer Oplus. But in a city full of sky-bridges and taxis that take you door-to-door, is there a need?

'Do you know the surest way to go broke?'

At least for the present, the Swiss watch industry may be the exception that proves the rule. While demand in the West may be falling for the kind of workhorse watch prevalent in pre-cell phone days, it is still strong in other parts of the world. And luxury brands are booming, observers say.

From academics to consumers, fashion insiders to manufacturers, most agree that the prospects for the Swiss watch industry are rosy thanks to soaring Asian sales and the enduring social cachet of expensive watches. Demand for the likes of Swatch's Omega, Rolex and Cartier : particularly in China -- is solid and companies are reporting glowing earnings despite a surging franc, sky-high precious metals prices and a limping global economy. Switzerland is the world's largest watch manufacturer, and while it produces timepieces in all different price categories, it accounts for most of the luxury market.

'The environment for the Swiss watch industry is still good, especially in Asia ex-Japan,' said Patrik Schwendimann, head of consumer goods equity research at ZKB in Geneva. 'These days, they are the most important market and the positive news is that they really like Swiss-made products.'

From January to September, manufacturers exported about 754 million Swiss francs ($765.4 million) worth of products to China, up 59% year on year and about CHF2.16 billion to Hong Kong, up 43% during the same period, according to the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry. This accounts for about one-quarter of the total value of CHF11.2 billion in watch exports recorded so far this year.

Major players such as Swatch, the world's largest watch maker, and Richemont, produced glowing first-half results. Swatch said sales rose by 33% while Richemont, owner of the Cartier brand, said sales rose 37% in the five months ended August 31. Rolex as well as many other privately-owned brands do not release figures. 'I am optimistic for the rest of the year and 2010 will be definitively a positive year,' said Jean-Daniel Pasche, president of the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry.

It appears that reports of the watches' demise : trumpeted along with the proliferation of cell phones and other time-telling devices -- were premature. But while the covet factor for luxury watches is high, it is unclear what would happen to this market if demand for the lower end falls off a cliff. In other words, would expensive watches be so in demand if there is no popular product to compare it to? Watches in the exclusive luxury sector are roughly defined as costing above $3,000 while the accessible luxury sector is priced from about $500. The mid- and lower range sit below $500 and $200.
The China factor

At the moment, there is little danger that luxury watch sector will follow the same trajectory as the hat industry, another item that was formerly a must-have by all classes. While worries over rising Chinese interest rates and the possibility of speculative bubbles in emerging markets will constantly stalk the whole luxury sector, the longer-term fundamentals are strong, observers say. Analysts expect Chinese growth in demand of luxury goods in excess of 20% a year.

The country has become the world's second-largest consumer luxury goods market after Japan, thanks to double digit economic growth during the last decade and the ascendancy of the 'little emperors,' products of the one-child policy enacted in the late 1970s. This generation has both economic confidence and a willingness to spend money on themselves. According to the Merrill Lynch Cap Gemini World Wealth Report, there are 477,000 Chinese millionaires, a third more than in 2008.

'China's affluent population is growing at a very fast pace and so is their demand for status symbols,' said Ronald Jean Degen, a professor at Fundação Getúlio Vargas in Rio de Janeiro. Degen has written extensively on the luxury market in Asia and believes that part of the success of the Swiss watch industry is that it has stayed away from the trend to democratize luxury .

Analysts also say Asian demand for lower-priced watches remains 'positive.' Elsewhere, however, it is a different picture. Companies like Swatch, with a stable of 19 brands in various price categories, do not break down sales figures for each segment and for each region. However, anecdotal evidence points to the fact that many people in developed economies aren't buying purely functional timepieces as much as they used to. 'I wouldn't expect much growth in the coming years from this segment,' said Schwendimann.

Hong Kong health authorities are on alert following the discovery of the city's first human case of bird flu in seven years

Officials, meanwhile, are still struggling to determine if the 59-year-old woman who tested positive for Influenza A (H5), a variant of the avian flu, contracted the disease within the city.

In a press conference Thursday, York Chow, the secretary for food and health, said the risk of avian flu in Hong Kong is 'not significantly higher than before.' Nonetheless, he said all public hospitals are operating at the serious response level under the government's preparedness plan for an influenza pandemic, requiring visitors to wear surgical masks, limiting the number of visitors and shortening visiting hours.

The Center for Health Protection is also testing all severe pneumonia cases for the bird flu. The city's last case of avian flu in humans was in 2003. In 1997, Hong Kong was home to the world's first major outbreak in humans, when six people died from the virus' mutation.

The government will also increase testing of chickens that cross the border with mainland China. In addition, the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department will inspect 30 Hong Kong farms and obtain samples for further testing.

The victim, currently in serious condition at Princess Margaret Hospital, traveled in mainland China for 10 days before returning to Hong Kong Nov. 1. She developed her first symptom, a runny nose, the next day.

The road to the mall may be paved with good intentions

'Shoppers are dealing with a whole new arsenal of tricks,' says Kit Yarrow, a professor of psychology and marketing and Golden Gate University in San Francisco.

Merchants have always used marketing tricks and rotating sales to encourage consumers to open their wallets, but this year, they're pushing every psychological button they can, retail experts say. Competition for shoppers, plus a tepid holiday shopping outlook, means retailers are doing whatever they can to attract deal-hunting consumers' attention ─ all in an effort to entice them into spending more than they'd planned. That means adding worry-inducing purchase limits to indicate scarcity, promising free gifts to shoppers who spend just a little more, and offering rewards today to redeem later just so people will come back to the store.

These strategies work in part because they tap into hard-wired behaviors that go back to our days in caves. Long before we were confronted with half-off Merino turtlenecks or buy-one-get-one-free smartphones, we learned to stockpile in the event of shortage and to compete for scarce resources, psychologists and neuroscientists say. The stakes are considerably lower when you shop, but studies have shown our brains react similarly nonetheless. The effectiveness -- and proliferation -- of these mind games are a big part of the reason you're apt to look back and wonder why you thought that buying three itchy sweaters for $50 or a $200 no-name television was such a good idea.

Get to know these seven hidden triggers, and next time you go shopping you can look at retailers' pitches with a more critical eye -- and maybe avoid blowing your budget:

'Shop today and save 50% next week.'

Aimed at: Your best intentions.

Why you fall for it: The promise of bigger savings in the future appeals to people who think they can game the system, says Lars Perner, an assistant professor of clinical marketing at the University of Southern California's Marshall School of Business. You figure on buying just one or two things now, then returning to pick up a few more. But volume-driven retailers are using the now-and-later tactic this year to steer consumers back to stores when they know they'll have new stock or other promotions that help you buy more than you planned.

It's similar to the 'buy a little bit more and get a free gift' promotion, Perner says.

'Limit five per person.'

Aimed at: Your competitive spirit.

Why you fall for it: Limits trigger a feeling that the deal is so great that, if not for that limit-four-per-customer rule, shoppers would be filling their carts to the brim, leaving none for you, says L.J. Shrum, the president of the Society for Consumer Psychology and the marketing department chair at the University of Texas at San Antonio. Setting a limit increases the likelihood you'll buy at least one, and it's even more effective if you were already planning to buy one of the item.

Higher numbers in promotions have the same effect, according to a 2007 study in the Journal of Retailing. Changing the structure of a sale from 'Buy two' to 'Buy eight' resulted in a 55% increase in sales ─ regardless of the price of each option, says study co-author Kenneth C. Manning, chair of the marketing department Colorado State University. This year, limits are showing up on anything a store wants to get rid of. You'll even see limits on items that might seem absurd to purchase in multiples, Shrum says.

'Our Big Sale ends tomorrow/today/in a few hours.'

Aimed at: Your survival instincts.

Why you fall for it: Fear, pure and simple. This tactic appeals to a basic instinct to grab what's available or be left without, says Noah Goldstein, an assistant professor of human resources and organizational behavior at the Anderson School of Management at the University of California, Los Angeles. Think of the crowds stocking up on bottled water and canned goods before a major storm comes through. In those frenzied hours, it's a matter of survival.

Retailer e-newsletters have made it easy to extend that tactic online, and many retailers send multiple emails to shoppers as the end of a sale nears. And they often respond.

'Get 23% off.'

Aimed at: Your love of a bargain.

Why you fall for it: Real estate brokers have long known that uneven pricing (say, $524,755 versus $525,000) catches buyers' attention, because those odd numbers suggest a bargain that has already been marked down -- whether that's actually the case or not. This year, retailers have picked up on that tactic this year as a way to separate their sales from the sea of 20%-off offers, Yarrow says.

'We have a great deal on the accessories for that, too.'

Aimed at: Your long-term investor.

Why you fall for it: Once the consumer has already made a decision to buy and to pay, it's easier to convince them to add related ─ but maybe unecessary ─ items to their purchase, Shrum says. That's because in your mind, you already own the product, making you more vulnerable to pitches for things that promise to make the purchase more useful or less vulnerable. A 2009 Carnegie Mellon study found that consumers were more likely to buy warranties on purchases if they thought doing so would extend the life of their gadget or preserve its value. And shoppers who felt they were being offered an un-advertised deal were 42% more likely to buy. This is particularly common with products that would be expensive to replace, like smartphones or tablet computers.

'Save $250! (New price: $500.)'

Aimed at: Your price-sensitive side.

Why you fall for it: Touting big savings or using a gigantic font in an ad puts the deal at the center and makes the actual price an afterthought. What's more, your brain often perceives the actual price as more reasonable because of that big price drop, says Perner.

Stores have used this tactic more during the recession to sell higher-priced items, hoping that you'll take a closer look at the washer that has the splashy discount, even if it is more expensive than other models, he says. This trick works, experts say.

'Get a free gift with your $50 purchase.'

He was the man behind the spectacular, star-studded 2008 Olympic opening ceremonies in Beijing

Now, Zhang Yimou ─ arguably China's best-known filmmaker ─ has made a low-budget, intimate love story with unknown lead actors.

'Under the Hawthorn Tree,' which some critics say may be Mr. Zhang's best, is based on a popular Internet biography written by Ai Mi, a best-selling female novelist. It tells the story of the attachment between a privileged son of a high-ranking Communist Party official  and the daughter of a jailed political outcast in 1970s China.

The movie doesn't star big-name actors and was shot for under 65 million Chinese yuan . Yet it has already earned more than 150 million yuan in China since its release in mid-September, according to its producer, Bill Kong, setting a new box-office record for a drama by Mr. Zhang, one of the country's few high-culture filmmakers proven to have mass appeal. It is still playing in some theaters in China.

'The film is doing much better than we expected,' says Mr. Kong in a rare interview. The publicity-shy 57-year-old Hong Konger is known for co-producing the Oscar-winning 'Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon' (2000), which was directed by Ang Lee.

Mr. Zhang, a graduate of the elite Beijing Film Academy and known for his lush, period dramas, first came to international prominence in the late 1980s on the film festival circuit. 'Red Sorghum' won the Golden Bear award at the 1988 Berlin International Film Festival. At the 1994 Cannes Film Festival, he received the Grand Jury Prize for 'To Live.' Both featured actress Gong Li.

'Under the Hawthorn Tree' is based on a biography about a young woman (the character known in the film as 'Jing') that has been a huge sensation in China online.

Messrs. Kong and Zhang have a history of successful collaborations. They were the producer-director duo behind 'Hero,' the 2002 kung-fu epic that is one of the top-grossing foreign-language films to appear in American theaters.

Reached by phone in Beijing, Mr. Zhang said: 'I have known Bill for a long time, more than 20 years. I knew his dad. Bill is one of the best producers around and he understands the Western market. He gives a lot of crucial support to his directors and he has helped give Chinese talent and films to the world.'

A decade ago, Chinese producers had to get their movies released in Europe and the U.S. in order to make a profit. With China's growing movie-going audience, however, this is no longer the case. But Chinese moviemakers still face hurdles getting their films distributed overseas largely because of a perceived resistance among Western audiences to read subtitles. Even so, Mr. Kong is optimistic about Chinese films being shown in America.

'We need to work with smaller, independent distributors and outlets like Netflix,' says Mr. Kong. 'We have to be creative and think about how to supply our products using digital platforms.'

'Under the Hawthorn Tree' is showing in Hong Kong theaters now and will be released soon in Japan and South Korea. Talks are continuing for a North American release.

Meanwhile, Messrs. Zhang and Kong are working on their next project, a movie about the brutal 1937 Japanese invasion of Nanjing, which will start shooting early next year.

The director has been talking with a number of big Hollywood actors to cast in the role of a priest, a lead part in the film.

Doesn't this limo driver know whom he's messing with?

According to U.S. prosecutors, a New York-area limousine driver cheated Hong Kong's most notorious feng shui master out of $794,986 after driving him into midtown Manhattan two years ago.

Tony Chan, a Hong Kong multimillionaire who quickly became one of the most talked-about men in Asia after mounting an unsuccessful legal battle for the fortune of deceased property heiress Nina Wang, may have the upper hand in this case.

Prosecutors say Mr. Chan was charged the rightful sum for the 13-mile ride from New Jersey's Teterboro Airport in July 2008. But Mr. Chan's ultimate tab multiplied after the driver, identified by federal prosecutors as Peter Rahhaoui, used the feng shui master's American Express card to ring up nearly $800,000 over the next four months.

All the while, it appears, Mr. Chan had other things on his mind than to glance through his AmEx statements, which he seems to have paid. During those four months, Mr. Chan was under siege by Hong Kong photographers encamped outside his gated compound in Hong Kong's tony Mid-Levels district, after staking a claim to the Chinachem fortune of Ms. Wang.

An email to Mr. Chan's lawyer in Hong Kong hasn't been answered.

The complaint, now accessible on the federal court system's website, was reviewed by The Wall Street Journal on Monday. The federal case against Mr. Rahhaoui was reported by the New York Post on Monday.

The alleged scam against Mr. Chan is the latest twist in a legal quagmire over one of Asia's great family fortunes─a two-decade-long story that has captivated Hong Kong.

New application measures mobile phone radiation

Israeli start-up firm Tawkon has developed software to measure mobile telephone handset radiation aimed at helping users reduce exposure to emissions without giving up their phones.
Tawkon's (pronounced talk-on) application is already available for Research In Motion's BlackBerry handsets and will be launched for Nokia's Symbian later this year.
"We are the first solution that can be downloaded to a phone," Tawkon co-founder and CEO Gil Friedlander told the reporters. Until now radiation emissions were measured with an external device.
In many countries handset manufacturers must disclose the maximum level of radiation emitted and similar legislation is starting to appear in the United States, Friedlander said.
The application monitors the phone user and if radiation levels reach a certain threshold called the "red zone" an alert is emitted along with suggestions to minimize exposure.
"There are simple things you can do such as changing the phone's position from horizontal to vertical," Friedlander said.
On many phones the antenna is on the bottom and often covered by the user's hand, causing the phone to emit more radiation. Connecting an ear piece or switching on speakerphone will reduce radiation exposure. In addition, Tawkon is connected to GPS and the software will show users where to move to reach a "green zone" and reduce exposure.
"We don't want people to stop using phones but to use them more responsibly," the Canadian-born Friedlander, 44, said.
San Francisco became the first U.S. city to pass a law requiring retailers to post radiation levels on cell phones and Friedlander said he believes Tawkon will benefit from this increased awareness.
"It will take a few years until research (on the health effects of cell phone radiation) will be more conclusive," Friedlander said. "A lot of regulatory bodies are concerned this will be too late for a whole generation. To take precautionary measures is the right thing to do."

Harry Potter generation: The magic will go on

When the final credits roll on Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, young Canadians won't just be saying goodbye to the franchise but closing a seminal chapter of their childhood.
Now in their late teens and early 20s, the generation that came of age with J.K. Rowling's characters, and alongside the actors that portrayed them, are steeling themselves for the end — Part 1 of which hits theatres Nov. 19. Part 2 is set for release on July 15, 2011.
"We are the Harry Potter generation," says Andrea Hill, 19. "We started in elementary school, reading about a boy our age who was going through the same things we were going through. We grew up, so did he."
Hill expects her heart to be as heavy upon the movie saga's end as it was when the book series reached its conclusion. The Edmonton native takes solace, however, in the knowledge that "there are so many things that will keep Harry Potter alive," from Universal Orlando's new Wizarding World theme park to real-life school Quidditch teams — one of which Hill personally founded, at Ottawa's Carleton University.
"We're not waiting anymore to see what happens to Harry next," says Hill. "But we're still engaged in that magical community."
Jake Kalbhenn, Toronto-based guitarist for The Nifflers — one of more than 450 "wizard rock" bands inspired by Rowling's books — believes he wouldn't be the person he is today were it not for the encouragement, acceptance and support of fellow Potter enthusiasts.
But after 13 years of steering youth culture, Harry Potter is moving on, and fans like Kalbhenn with him.
"If it just continued forever, like Star Wars, it would be terrible," says Kalbhenn, 20. "We had our fun but it's time to let go and just be happy that we had it while we did."
Rupert Grint, best known as Ron Weasley, says he's happy to finally have time to pursue romance. Emma Watson, who plays Hermione Granger, says she looks forward to "finally being free, being my own person" — a transformation signalled by the actress's dramatic new pixie cut.
And Daniel Radcliffe, who since 2001 has been the face of the teen wizard, says that although he "did cry like a little girl" when Deathly Hallows production wrapped, he's eager to see what life holds for him beyond the halls of Hogwarts.

China's continued rapid growth should make it the main driver of the global economy next year as the U.S. slows down

In just two years, the Asian country could even overtake the U.S. as the world's largest economy ─ at least by one economic measure, the research group said in its annual global outlook.

China's economy should grow by 9.6% in 2011 after expanding by 10% this year. By contrast, the U.S. economy is seen slowing to just 1.2% growth next year from 2.6% in 2010.

According to the most commonly used way to compare economic size, the gap between second-place China's $5.0 trillion economy and the U.S.'s nearly $15 trillion output remains large. By that measure, it could take China more than a decade to match the U.S. even at the current very high growth rates, which will be hard to sustain for the Asian country.

But things look different when considering purchasing-power parity (PPP), which takes into account the goods and services a country's currency actually buys at home and is a measure that's closely watched by some professional economists, including at the Conference Board. Taking into account the difference in prices of the same goods between countries ─ in other words, measuring the real purchasing power people have in each country ─ the think tank predicts China could have a larger economy than the U.S. by 2012.

The Conference Board sees the U.S. economy slowing by almost 1.5 percentage points in 2011 due to slower spending by consumers, companies and the government. At only 1.2%, growth in the U.S. next year would be lower than both Japan and Western Europe, which are expected to grow by 1.5%. But thanks to strong emerging economies like China and India, the global economy is seen growing by 4.2% in 2011.

Looking further ahead, China could account for almost one quarter of the global economy in 2020, compared to 15% for the U.S. and 13% for Western Europe, or the 15 original European Union countries that include Germany and France. India, meantime, is expected to have 8% of the world's output in ten year.

Bart van Ark, chief economist at the Conference Board, cautioned the main risks to the projections are if China's fast-growing economy is hit by uncontrolled inflation or asset bubbles.

But his baseline scenario is that together with India, China will account for half of global growth from 2010 to 2020. Over the next decade, growth in emerging economies is expected to be more than three times faster than growth in advanced economies.

Becoming the world's largest economy would pose 'big challenges' for China by increases its responsibility to ensure the global economy runs smoothly while still dealing with a fragile domestic economy, van Ark said.

For now, China has shown few signs of wanting a leadership role in the world economy like the U.S. currently has, refusing to bow to pressure from other countries to abandon its policy of boosting economic growth by keeping the value of its currency artificially low.

The U.S., meantime, is experiencing the downsides of being global economic leader and having a currency that's used internationally to trade all sorts of goods. Last week's decision by the Federal Reserve to print $600 billion to buy government debt in an effort to boost a weak domestic economy is being attacked by countries from around the world because one of the side effects is that it weakens the U.S. dollar. Leaders from the Group of 20 biggest advanced and emerging economies are meeting in Korea this week to discuss currencies and the global economy.

Indicating they're not ready to take a leadership role, politicians in China have argued the country is still lagging behind others in technology and that most of its huge population live in poverty. And they're right.

Russia Proposes Gas Summit

Russia is proposing a summit of all countries involved in the current gas dispute between Moscow and Kyiv. The proposal comes a week after Moscow halted deliveries of Russian gas through a Ukrainian pipeline that supplies much of Europe.
Russian President Dmitri is proposing a summit in Moscow involving all countries affected by the ongoing gas crisis, which has coincided with plunging winter temperatures in Europe. He made the call during a meeting near the Russian capital with the visiting prime ministers of Bulgaria, Moldova, and Slovakia.
Mr. Medvedev expressed hope the proposed meeting Saturday will facilitate a way out of the current crisis and will help avoid similar situations in the future. The ongoing dispute between Russia and Ukraine has halted or sharply limited gas deliveries to several European countries.
There was no immediate reaction to the Russian summit proposal from Ukraine or the countries affected by the gas cutoff.
The three visiting prime ministers also met with their Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, who blamed Ukraine for failure to honor a multilateral agreement to resume shipment of gas to Europe.
Mr. Putin told his guests the important thing is that Russia opened the valve in the direction of their countries and is prepared to deliver, but he said the valve on the Ukrainian side is closed and they are not transferring the gas.
In Kyiv, Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko said the full resumption of gas deliveries to Europe were being delayed because the small amount of gas provided by Russia does not create the pressure needed transport the gas through the pipeline.
Ms. Tymoshenko says another consideration is that Russia tried to send the fuel through a pipeline where Ukrainian gas has been flowing in the opposite direction to service eastern Ukraine, which makes it impossible to deliver gas to Europe along that route.
Meanwhile, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso is warning that he will recommend legal action against the gas companies of Russian and Ukraine, if they do not restore the flow of gas soon.
Russia is also threatening to sue Ukraine to recover export losses that Gazprom Chairman Miller says currently amount to $1.1 billion.
Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek, whose country now holds the European Union presidency, says the EU should increase efforts to build the Nabucco pipeline, which would circumvent Russia. The proposed pipeline, which has the support of the United States, would bring Caspian or Middle Eastern gas to Europe.