Word: tougher
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Analysts say dozens of smaller businesses have the same or worse predicament. "If the biggest companies in the nation are having a tougher time getting financing, then it's going to be much more difficult for smaller firms to get credit," says Martin Fridson, whose firm Fridson Investment Advisors analyses corporate bonds...
...sudden disappearance of some big financial companies as well as a cutback in lending activity at many banks has made it tougher and more expensive for companies to get funding. Hedge funds, too, which are having their worst year on record, have retreated from the lending business. And observers say the government's bailout plan won't change the problems companies are having getting funding anytime soon...
...Prime Minister's call for tougher enforcement also cautioned local authorities to balance environmental protection with development to ensure growth is sustainable. In a press conference after the charges against Vedan were made public, Nguyen, the Natural Resources and Environment Minister, conceded he was under a lot of pressure. "Many local officials have called me to say that we have to lower standards on the environment," the Natural Resources and Environment Minister said, "otherwise they can't attract foreign investors...
...Hong Kong, the financial and managerial nerve center of the Chinese region often called the world's factory, is a wealthy city. But even here, the global credit squeeze is making it tougher for businesses to borrow money to cover their short-term needs. "Right now, we're facing trouble," says Tommy Lam, owner of a garment factory in Dongguan, a Chinese manufacturing hub near Hong Kong. "We're not getting repeat orders we're supposed to get. [And] banks are warning us they may cut our credit in the future...
...Still, Kroeber and others stress that China may choose not to participate in a global bailout because leaders will have their hands full at home. Tougher economic times could affect the country's social stability, meaning leaders will direct their focus inward. "China's resources are strong enough to ensure its own economy can sail through this relatively smoothly," says Kroeber. "But they can't save anyone else's bacon...