US Labor Department reported unemployment rate dropped to 9.5 percent

The US Labor Department announced today that the economy gained 83,000 jobs in the private sector in June. Overall, employment declined by 125,000 and the unemployment rate dropped to 9.5 percent, from which 225,000 jobs were temporary census workers ending their service. Over the first half of the year, 600,000 private sector jobs were created; the average growth remained steady to 100,000 new private sector jobs each month.

The labor figures were weaker than expected by investors, who reflected their sentiment on the stock market. Major US stock indices dropped while the China 100 stock index managed to gain 6.94 points or 0.88% to 795.99. The Panda China Large Cap Stock Index closed flat at 948.31. The Tiger China Small & Mid Cap Stock Index won 8.92 points or 1.19% to close at 760.86 and the Dragon China Undervalued Stock Index gained 1.55% to close at 698.92.

Orient Paper Inc. (ONP) shares rallied Friday, retracing most of the week's 50% drop, as long and short investors battled over the legitimacy of the company's financial position and operational viability. Orient paper is currently responding to allegations made via a report issued by Muddy Waters on June 28, 2010, where ONP is accused of being a fraud. Orient Paper closed today at 7.30 per share with a gain of 2.21 points or 43.42%.

Biostar Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (BSPM) [2.61, 0.16, -5.78%] announced today the Registrant's board of directors appointed Mr. Deyin Chen as the Registrant's Chief Financial Officer to replace Ms. Zhao, effective July 1, 2010. Mr. Chen will serve as the Registrant's Chief Financial Officer for a one-year term and he will be entitled to receive a base pay of RMB 50,000 (approximately $7,354) per month. Additionally, upon stockholder approval of the Registrant's 2009 Incentive Stock Plan (the "Plan"), Mr. Chen will be granted a non-statutory option pursuant to the Plan to purchase up to 360,000 shares of the Registrant's common stock, at an exercise price of $2.80 per share.

Chunghwa Telecom (CHT) [20.14, 0.27, +1.36%] announced that it plans to set up four cloud computing centers catering to cloud computing services, testing, R&D and experimental services. CHT aims to become the largest cloud computing service and data center provider in Taiwan. An operational center will be located in a building complex with a total floor area of 49,600 square meters (533,700 square feet) near Taipei City, CHT indicated.

The building complex, currently under construction and to be completed in 2012, will house the largest data center in Asia, CHT said. A cloud computing R&D center will be set up with a 100-member team to focus on core technologies of cloud computing. There will also be an experience center offering a real environment for providers and users of cloud computing services, CHT noted.

GigaMedia Limited (GIGM) [2.32, 0.05, +2.20%] announced today that Everest Poker and BetClic Poker have commenced public operations in France as part of the new liberalization of online betting in France. Everest Poker and BetClic Poker are jointly owned by Mangas Gaming and GigaMedia. Everest Poker was awarded "Best Poker Operator" for two consecutive years by the independent industry journal e-Gaming Review - and is one of the top poker sites worldwide by active player numbers. Mangas Gaming is a leader in European gambling with operations including BetClic, Expekt, and Bet-at-Home; together offering sports betting, poker and casino services to over four million registered users in over 25 countries.

Ecuador is negotiating with China Development Bank Corp. for a $1 billion loan to be repaid by the sale of oil or fuel oil from state-run Petroecuador to China's state-owned PetroChina International Co. (PTR) [109.53, 0.53, -0.48%]. Ecuador is turning to China for financing after a market-unfriendly sovereign debt buyback last year and relations soured with multilateral lenders such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, badly hampering its access to overseas private capital. From June 2 to June 12, representatives of the Ecuador's finance ministry and China Development Bank met in Beijing to discuss the loan.

According the minutes of the meetings, signed on June 12 and reviewed by Dow Jones Newswires, Petroecuador will supply PetroChina with 36,000 barrels of its Oriente and Napo crudes or fuel oil per day. "Petroecuador will supply oil under the oil contract until all amounts under the loan have been paid," the document said. The loan is expected to be paid off within four years. The loan will have a fixed interest rate of 6.5%.

China Petroleum & Chem ADS (SNP) [79.70, 0.82, -1.02%] will cut daily oil processing volume at its Hainan plant by 11 percent this month from June as profit shrinks. The refinery plans to process 720,000 metric tons of crude this month, or about 170,000 barrels a day, from 780,000 tons in June. The plant is making “little” profit from crude processing after the government reduced oil-product prices in June, China cut gasoline and diesel prices by about 3 percent starting June 1 after a drop in crude oil prices.

Suntech Power Holdings (STP) [9.39, 0.11, -1.16%] and Hoku Scientific, Inc. announced today that they have amended their polysilicon supply contract to remove milestones, adjust the contract term and reschedule the shipment date, according to an announcement on Suntech's website. Suntech is no longer responsible for a previously schedule prepayment of $30 million, but Hoku does not have to refund a $2 million prepayment, the announcement said. The agreement was shortened to one year to match Suntech's $2 million prepayment.