$50 million

The amount of insurance coverage for protection and indemnity that Indian shipping companies will receive in transporting oil from Iran after a government approval Tuesday. Experts say the amount is only a small fraction of the amount actually required and will leave companies vulnerable to billions of dollars of risk.

57

The number of years since a U.S. secretary of state has visited Laos. Hillary Clinton visited the landlocked Southeast Asian nation this week as part of her trip to Asia. To see cogitASIA posts on the visit, see here and here.

2.2%

The percentage by which China’s consumer price index rose by in June, an indicator of easing inflation which is at its lowest level in two-and-a-half years and well below the government’s target of 4%.

4

The number of parties that Japanese political kingpin Ichiro Ozawa has formed in his four decades in politics. Earlier this week, Ozawa formed a new party, called “People’s Livelihoods First” , which is aimed at overturning a proposal to double the nation’s consumption tax and threaten Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda’s hold on power.

3%

The lead that Australian opposition leader Tony Abbott has over Prime Minister Julia Gillard according to a recent poll sixteen months before an election must be held. 39 percent said they preferred Abbott as leader, compared to 36 percent for Gillard.