Commercial banks had issued more than 1.035 trillion yuan ($152 billion) in credit to cardholders by the end of the first quarter, double the amount they issued during the same period last year.

Some banks, such as China Merchants Bank, have stopped issuing cards to college students to safeguard it from defaults.

The central bank warned commercial banks of default risks and said they should be vigilant when expanding their credit card business.

Government Deficit

China had a central deficit of 180 billion yuan ($26.3 billion) in 2008, according to Minister of Finance Xie Xuren, who reported the figures to the Ninth Session of the Standing Committee of the 11th National People's Congress on June 24 in Beijing.

The deficit was 20 billion yuan ($2.93 billion) less than in 2007.

This year, however, the situation has been even tougher given the fallout from the global financial meltdown. In the first five months, national fiscal revenue dropped 6.7 percent year on year, while fiscal expenditure surged 27.8 percent because of the government's heavy investment in infrastructure, massive tax cuts and lower company profits.

At the same session, Liu Jiayi, Auditor General of the National Audit Office, disclosed that 4 billion yuan ($586 million) was misused and another 467 million yuan ($68.4 million) was wasted.

Liu said the State Council had instructed relevant departments to take immediate and effective measures to prevent the misuse of government funds.

Gome's Nirvana

Beleaguered electrical appliance giant Gome Appliance Co. Ltd. has steered clear of its former chairman's stock scandal and received money from U.S.-based Bain Capital LLC, a private equity firm based in Boston.

Shares of Hong Kong-listed Gome resumed trading on June 23 after a seven-month suspension due to the misconduct of Huang Guangyu, the company's founder and former chairman.

Gome and Bain Capital reached a financing deal in which Gome will get HK$3.23 billion ($419 million) in cash from the private equity firm and other shareholders.

Bain Capital could end up with 23 percent of Gome shares on completion of the deal, which would dilute Huang's shareholding to 25.3 percent from its current 35.5 percent.

Huang was sent to prison last year after he was found guilty of corruption and stock manipulation. Since then, industry insiders have doubted whether the company could withstand the crisis. In the meantime, Gome plans to shut down 100 of its less profitable stores.

Luo Tianhao, a senior researcher at the Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business, said Gome might have lost a founding father, but it certainly did the right thing by introducing an overseas investor that could bring fresh management ideas and start a new chapter in the company's history.

Merrill Lynch upgraded Gome shares to "accumulate" from "reduce" after the deal was announced.

Husbandry Forum

The Fourth China Animal Husbandry Technology Development Forum and the Sixth China Animal Husbandry New Technology and Product Expo will be held on October 23-25 in Rongchang, Chongqing Municipality.

As the highest-level animal husbandry meeting in China, the forum will bring together a number of domestic and overseas experts, business leaders and government officials to discuss a series of significant issues.

The forum's theme will be "Animal Husbandry Production Security and Human Health."

The A/H1N1 flu pandemic and plummeting pork prices have posed grim challenges to China's animal husbandry industry, said Chen Jie, Director of the State Office for Modern Animal Husbandry Demonstration Area Construction. Chen told Beijing Review that he firmly believes the forum will find a viable way to realize the safe and orderly development of China's animal husbandry industry.