Hong Kong  - Hong Kong stocks recovered the bullish sentiment seen earlier week after the benchmark Hang Seng index climbed 3.6 per cent on Thursday.

The Hang Seng broke the 14,000-point mark to close up 486.87 points at 14,108.98, an 11-week high.

Turnover was 64.05 billion Hong Kong dollars (8.2 billion dollars).

Analysts said investor confidence reflected wider upbeat sentiment in Asia about the US economy.

Hong Kong - Hong Kong is playing an important role in the survival of the endangered green turtle by acting as a key breeding ground and transit route, a media report said Thursday.

Biologists using satellite tracking tags fixed to four female green turtles showed Hong Kong was a vital marine passage, the Standard newspaper said.

"Our data showed they do migrate among feeding grounds in waters near Hong Kong, migrating from the Philippines to China to lay eggs," said Cheung Ka-shing, an officer with the Agriculture Fisheries and Conservation Department.

Hong Kong  - The price for new flats in Hong Kong has crashed to their lowest level since 2003 as a Chinese property developer offered homes for 1.83 million Hong Kong dollars (234,615 dollars), a media report said Thursday.

Developer Chinese Estates cut prices by up to 20 per cent to attract buyers to a new housing project in the west Kowloon area of the city, the Standard said.

The prices are the lowest since the economic slump caused by an outbreak of the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) respiratory disease.

Hong Kong - Australian visitors were warned Wednesday about Hong Kong's poor air quality in a travel alert issued by the Canberra government.

The alert warned that levels of air pollution "may aggravate bronchial, sinus or asthma conditions" and says people with heart or respiratory illnesses should take precautions.

It urges visitors with pre-existing conditions to reduce physical activity and outdoor activity on days when air pollution readings are high in the densely populated high-rise city of 7 million.

Hong Kong - A black joke doing the rounds in Asian financial circles goes like this: Question: "What's the definition of an optimist?" Answer: "A banker who has five shirts ironed on a Sunday."

It is a joke Barry Emmerton - who lost his 15,500-US-dollar-a month job as an interest rates derivatives specialist - can afford to smile at, even though the shirt question is already irrelevant for him.

Today, instead of waking up to the prospect of another nerve-wracking week in Hong Kong's money markets, the