SAFE sets up New York investment operation

The State Administration of Foreign Exchange has set up an operation in New York to make alternative investments in the United States, the Wall Street Journal reported. The new operation, which will focus on private equity, real estate and other assets, is an effort by China's foreign-exchange reserves manager to diversify away from US government debt, the newspaper reported. SAFE has sought to vary its portfolio in the past year by buying European assets and Japanese stocks, the newspaper reported.

UBS downgrades 2013 GDP growth to 7.7 percent