bit deeply into fourth quarter net profit at the firm the world leader in phone
network equipment
total announce job cuts are now about generating huge restructuring
charges with the intention of bringing equally huge cost savings
the swedish telecom giant said that sales had dropped owing to cuts in
investment by mobile phone operators in number of markets including in
developing nations in central europe the middle east and africa
in sign of the impact of the economic crisis on the telecom industry
ericsson net profit plunged by percent to million kronor million
euros million dollars between october and december
that was in contrast to net profit of billion kronor in the same period
of the company said in statement
the profit margin was much lower than expected as analysts polled by dow jones
newswires had forecast net profit of billion kronor
restructuring costs nearly doubled to billion kronor in the fourth quarter
compared to billion kronor in the same period in and for the full year
the charges totalled billion kronor the company said
the company estimates that its restructuring programme will cost up to
billion kronor and bring annual savings of between billion and billion
kronor
when the initial restructuring programme was announced in january it
was anticipated that the actions would result in reduction of the number of
employees by some of which about in sweden ericsson said
the has been exceeded and is estimated to reach approximately the
company said in the statement
ericsson has also suffered from the difficulties at its two joint ventures sony
ericsson and st ericsson which together chalked up charges of billion
kronor
sales fell by percent to billion kronor in the fourth quarter in the
wake of the global economic crisis and growing competition from telecom
equipment industry with the rise of china huawei
ericsson said the anticipated decline in sales of older gsm networks had
accelerated owing to the economic crisis but was not yet offset by the growth
in mobile broadband and investments in next generation ip networks
during the second half of networks sales were impacted by reduced
operator spending in number of markets chief executive hans vestberg said in
statement
during operators in number of developing markets especially central
europe middle east and africa became increasingly cautious with investments
he said
meanwhile other markets including china india and the us continued to show
good development with major network buildouts vestberg said
ericsson shares opened percent lower at kronor at the stockholm stock
exchange after the company announced its results
singapore long term growth under five percent
singapore jan afp
singapore prime minister lee hsien loong said monday the country long term
growth rate is likely to average less than five percent annually over the next
ten years as the economy matures further
overall we must acknowledge that we are more developed economically than we
were or years ago and we can no longer grow as rapidly as before he told
forum organised by the institute of policy studies local think tank
if you take it over the next decade think five percent will be stretch
he said
in his speech lee also touched on the island state shrinking population and
said keeping the doors open to migrants will remain part of the solution
one key to sustain economic growth is to rejuvenate our population and to
develop and attract talent said lee
the best economic policies will not bring us growth if our population starts to
decline we must also top up our population and talent pool with immigration
in measured and calibrated way
singapore birthrate is below the necessary replacement level it had
population of million in including over one million foreigners who
work in the country and their families
to deal with the low birthrate and ageing population the country has
intensified efforts to attract more immigrants particularly university
graduates and skilled workers
however the influx of foreign workers has sparked resentment among some locals
who blame the migrants for pushing up housing prices and competition for jobs
among others
immigration has become more sensitive issue for singaporeans the
government understands these sentiments said lee
but immigration is going to be an issue which will be with us for some time
because we have no alternative to topping up our population numbers
meanwhile the government economic development board edb said monday it
expects to attract billion singapore dollars billion us in
fixed asset investments this year from billion dollars in
with the economic recovery and the increasing focus on asia edb is cautiously
optimistic that investment commitments in will be higher than the
government body said in statement
singapore gross domestic product is expected to expand percent this year
after shrinking percent last year due to the global economic crisis
bank fears send asian shares lower
hong kong jan afp
uncertainty over us president barack obama bank revamp plans and fears of
policy tightening by beijing spooked risk averse investors in asian trade
monday as financial stocks continued to slide
world market sentiment has soured since obama unveiled on thursday plans for
tough banking reform that would limit excessive risk taking blamed for the
economic crisis move that would affect the scope of financial institutions
fears beijing will curb credit as it tries to rein in its scorching economy have
also eroded risk appetite while its calls for banks to raise funds to meet
regulatory requirements have prompted concerns of share value dilution
confidence is brittle due to concerns about further tightening measures in
china francis lun general manager at fulbright securities told dow jones
newswires
shanghai closed down percent with banks leading the losses after bank of
china announced aggressive plans over the weekend to issue new shares and
billion yuan billion dollar convertible bond sale
the shanghai composite index shed points to
bank of china shares saw volatile trade closing down percent to yuan
dealers fear other mainland banks will also launch fund raising plans to shore
up their balance sheets
banks may continue to fall as investors are unsure how successful the capital
raising exercises would be said simon wang an analyst at guoyuan securities
hong kong shares closed down percent or points to in
their fourth straight day of decline heavyweight hsbc fell percent to
hong kong dollars
in tokyo the nikkei was down percent or points to as
stronger yen weighed on exporters seoul kospi shed percent or
points to
it seems that the obama administration is trying to fight the decline in its
voter support by addressing popular criticism against the financial sector
said mizuho securities analyst yukio takahashi
this issue could continue to weigh on wall street
the region saw broad falls following percent slump on the dow jones index
friday its biggest weekly drop since february
sydney shed percent with the amp asx down points at
financials were hardest hit with westpac down percent at australian
dollars us and anz percent lower at mining giants bhp
billiton fell percent to but rio tinto rose percent to
markets also grappled with doubts about the future of us federal reserve
chairman ben bernanke after key democratic senators said last week they would
oppose his reappointment after his first term ends on january
top ranking members of the us senate banking committee however voiced
confidence saturday that he would be confirmed for second term
the dollar edged higher to yen in tokyo afternoon trade from in new
york late friday
the euro rose to dollars after and to yen from
oil was higher new york main futures contract light sweet crude for delivery
in march rose cents to dollars barrel in afternoon trade while
brent north sea crude gained cents to dollars
hong kong gold closed at us dollars an ounce up from friday
close of dollars
in other markets
singapore closed or eight points lower at
local investors may well follow the lead from wall street players who are for
the time being ignoring good news on the earnings front said amfraser retail
research head najeeb jarhom
banking group dbs was down cents at and singapore airlines dipped
cents to
taiwan closed down points or percent at
wall street will continue to dictate the local trading amid weak sentiment
towards financial firms grand cathay securities analyst mars hsu said
taiwan semiconductor manufacturing co closed down percent at while
hon hai precision industry closed up percent at
jakarta lost points or percent to
kuala lumpur lost points or percent to
new zealand was flat with the nzx index down points at
construction company fletcher building rose five cents to dollars
manila closed percent lower the composite index fell points to
philippine long distance telephone co fell percent to pesos
dollars while energy development corp dropped four percent to pesos
oil prices steady after sharp falls
london jan afp
oil prices steadied on monday following slump last week against background
of weak global demand for energy and concerns about the wider economy
strength
new york main futures contract light sweet crude for delivery in march fell
cents to dollars barrel
brent north sea crude for march delivery gained five cents to dollars in
early london trading
crude is under pressure from the slump last week said purvin and gertz
consultancy analyst victor shum
energy futures retreated in recent days as traders fretted over possible moves
by beijing to rein in the booming chinese economy which is major consumer of
oil
the market was also dampened as us president barack obama unveiled plans to
crack down on the us financial sector amid fragile economic recovery
oil prices jumped by about percent in as traders were heartened by
evidence that the battered global economy was on the mend with the eurozone
japan and the united states escaping fierce recession
however crude futures have struggled to make much headway in early as
economic data disappoints
hong kong firm to launch dubai fund report
hong kong jan afp
hong kong based investment firm is planning to launch million us dollar
investment fund aimed at companies in cash strapped dubai report said monday
first eastern investment group will supply million us dollars to get the fund
started while seeking further capital from investors who hope to cash in on
rebound in the struggling gulf city state the financial times said
first eastern chairman victor chu said the fund would invest in businesses
with regional interests including the shipping oil and hotel industries the
newspaper reported
we want to support sustainable businesses connected to dubai as trading
logistical and financial centre he said according to the ft
we would use our contacts to also help them expand in china and across asia
chu could not be immediately reached for comment
dubai shook world markets in november after saying it wanted freeze on debt
repayments by its largest and most indebted conglomerate dubai world
the city total debt including that of its state firms was reportedly
billion dollars with dubai world owing billion dollars
dubai oil rich neighbour abu dhabi has so far pledged billion dollars to
help its fellow emirate out of financial trouble
football man city eye real gago report
madrid jan afp
manchester city have made an offer for real madrid argentina midfielder
fernando gago who is desperate to leave the club after spending too much time
on the bench spanish newspaper said monday
gago will try until the end to convince madrid to let him leave and for that
he is meeting on monday with sporting director jorge valdando to discuss his
future the daily marca said
the best offer is from manchester city which is ready to pay million
euros
but it said real appear reluctant to let him go
gago joined real madrid in january from boca juniors to replace
another argentinian fernando redondo
but he has spent much of this season on the bench and is keen for more first
team play ahead of the world cup in south africa in june
sarkozy on prime time tv to defend his reforms
paris jan afp
battered in the opinion polls french president nicolas sarkozy goes on prime
time television monday to defend his record in office as joblessness rises and
regional elections loom
france top television channel tf is asking french viewers from all walks
of life to put their questions directly to the president during the minute
programme starting at pm gmt
sarkozy has been struggling with near record lows in his approval rating since
taking office in with poll at the weekend showing that only percent
support him while percent disapprove of his performance
the president who turns on thursday has rolled out series of measures to
address the financial meltdown but has failed to reverse the climb in
unemployment which is on track to hit percent this year
the jobless rate remained stable at percent in the third quarter of
but the government has warned that the employment outlook will take some time to
improve following last year recession
poll released ahead of sarkozy television appearance showed that jobs was
the number one concern in france followed by pension reform and cost of living
sarkozy is also expected to touch on the crisis in quake hit haiti measures to
curb bankers bonuses proposed legislation on banning the full islamic veil and
the carbon tax to help fight global warming
before millions of french viewers he will try to bring together all of the
various issues explain his reforms and show their coherence said an elysee
official
sarkozy was elected on promise to reform france and rev up its economy but
voters complain that the president priorities appear muddled
on the electoral front the president right wing ump party is gearing up for
regional elections in march hoping to beat back the opposition socialists who
control of france regions
the television appearance caps several weeks of speeches to various sectors of
french society that have allowed the president to offer good wishes for the new
year and outline his plans
on wednesday sarkozy will deliver the opening address at the world economic
forum in davos and expound on his call for more regulation of global finance
olympics russia russians seek to regain superpower status
moscow jan afp
russia which still sees itself as winter sports superpower is optimistic
about its prospects at the vancouver olympic games despite suffering an
unaccustomed slump in its fortunes last year
we believe that up to athletes have serious chance of winning medals at
the games said russia olympic committee chief leonid tyagachev
we are taking into consideration those athletes who were in their disciplines
top six at the world championships and grand prix events this season
the olympic supremo shrugged off russia poor showing in the last season
winter programme when the country managed to win only three world championship
gold medals in winter disciplines two in biathlon and one in figure skating
last year we won only three gold medals but we should acknowledge that we can
seriously improve and increase our medal haul at the olympics he added
many of our star athletes retired after the turin games while those who
replaced them were still too young
but now they have picked up enough experience and believe are ready to
sparkle at vancouver
the russian ice hockey team which has failed to clinch olympic gold since
albertville in but has won both of the last world championships is
definitely among the games hot favourites
however hosts canada who finished runners up in the two previous world
championship finals are widley expected to be in the final hoping to gain
revenge for those defeats
turin olympic champion yevgeny plushenko who capped his return to the sport
with the european title last week remains russia main hope for the olympic
title in figure skating
in ice dancing european champions oksana domnina and maxim shabalin who will
cause more controversy with their aboriginal performance or yana khokhlova
and sergei novitsky will be chasing olympic medals
pairs skaters yuko kavaguti and alexander smirnov are also capable of winning
one of the medals in their section
meanwhile the russian biathlon federation will be hoping to overcome the
consequences of doping scandal that rocked the sport when top russian
biathletes albina ahatova yekaterina iourieva and dmitry yaroshenko were
suspended
olga zaitseva olga medvedtseva svetlana sleptsova and anna bogaliy will all
look to shine in individual events and relay yevgeny ustyugov is medal hope
amongst the men
the country biathlon chiefs are aiming for two gold two silver and two bronze
medals in vancouver
the year old veteran luger albert demchenko who won silver at turin is also
in top form for his sixth olympics
the crew of alexander zubkov in bobsleigh fours is also among russia olympic
medal hopes along with yekaterina tudegesheva who won the world
championship in parallel slalom snowboarding
four years ago in turin russia won medals including eight gold to finish
fourth in the medals table
olympics britain british target skeleton curling gold
paris jan afp
britain is aiming to better their previous best winter olympics medal haul
dating back years although sudden cash crisis has cast cloud over the
build up to the february games
back in in the german resort of garmisch partenkirchen britain won one
gold ice hockey one silver figure skater cecilia colledge and one bronze
men man bobsleigh
but the british olympic association is confident of bettering that after seeing
its winter athletes claim world gold medals in in the women two man
bobsleigh team and men curling while the skeleton squad added two silvers
it is encouraging to see the potential that exists within british winter
sport boa chief executive andy hunt said
in turin four years ago team gb won one medal shelley rudman excellent
silver in the skeleton we hope to improve on that performance in canada he
said
the british team that will travel to vancouver will comprise around athletes
across disciplines biathlon bobsleigh skeleton curling luge figure
skating short track speed skating alpine skiing cross country skiing
freestyle skiing and snowboard
however vancouver hopes suffered scare last week when it was reported that
the british ski and snowboard federation needed pound
dollars cash injection to keep operating
federation chairman oliver jones told the times that the global economic crisis
had hit his organisation hard
administration is only one of number of outcomes which may come out of this
he said
the federation has had particularly difficult year made worse by the
economic background
against the backdrop of economic gloom britain top of the podium hopes will
again lie with rudman in the women skeleton
rudman ousted top ranked mellisa hollingworth in the world cup race at st moritz
last week to show her form with fellow briton amy williams fourth
the men curling team will enter the olympic competition in vancouver as
reigning world champions after defeating host nation canada in the final in
april
men skip david murdoch said he could not wait for the games to begin
it the pinnacle of our sport the competition that everybody wants to be
involved in he said
the games in turin ended in such frustrating way when we missed out on
medal by the narrowest of margins and very keen to have another opportunity
to compete for an olympic medal with team gb
we go as world champions but we know the competition will be very tough
particularly from the host nation curling is hugely popular in canada so we
know there will be lot of interest in our event
jon eley is also medal hopeful in speed skating having finished fifth in
turin four years ago the men relay team are also considered strong contenders
for podium finish
hopes in alpine skiing rest squarely on the shoulders of chemmy alcott who in
finished th in the women downhill th in the super and in the
giant slalom
but it is difficult to see either alcott or the men ski team break the
dominance of traditional alpine countries on the piste
olympics canada canadians adopt killer instinct to end gold misery
los angeles jan afp
canada is hoping to use its home field advantage to snap its gold medal drought
at the olympic games even if it means upsetting its powerful next door
neighbour
canada holds the dubious honour of being the only country to host the olympics
twice and fail to capture gold medal
the national angst over not winning gold in calgary winter olympics and
montreal summer olympics has resulted in the hosts going to great lengths
this time to ensure victory
canada is playing to win and one way they hope to do that is by limiting how
much time visiting countries can train on olympic facilities in the run up to
the games
and it is not going over with some countries especially the americans who
complain that canada win at all costs mentality goes against the olympic
spirit of good sportsmanship
it just seems contrary to the whole olympic spirit us speedskating president
brad goskowicz told the milwaukee journal sentinel they have closed or limited
venues to other teams
canada completed its venues two seasons in advance allowing canadians exclusive
training access
this is the canadian advantage we are not going to give away said alpine
canada chief athletic officer max gartner
for canada it is matter of survival and national pride as their own the
podium programme has set goal of winning record medals
there sort of natural humility that embedded in the canadian dna said
john furlong chief executive of canada organizing committee we get up to
the podium and we wonder if we belong there think we are kind of getting past
that
canada success at the turin games did help restore some pride as they won
medals including seven gold
but there were no gold to be had at either calgary or montreal and just
medals combined
great hopes have been invested in ice hockey
canada two teams have shot at winning gold when the men final takes place
on february and the women three days earlier
the men team with superstar sidney crosby in the vanguard are under enormous
pressure having failed to medal in turin in
canada won the salt lake city olympics in and the world championships in
and before falling to russia in the quarter finals of the turin games
where they finished lowly seventh
the men olympic downhill is scheduled for february in whistler just one day
after the opening ceremonies
so skier manny osborne paradis is fully aware that the downhill is the first
chance for canadian athlete to snap the embarrassing drought
osborne paradis victories in the downhill val gardena and super lake
louise this season have put him in contention to do it
the gold medal is huge the fact you happen to be the first canadian on home
soil to win gold is another matter he said it doesn put any more
pressure on me
there are couple of other canadian athletes besides osborne paradis who could
mine gold on the opening day of competition including jennifer heil the
reigning olympic mogul skiing champion
figure skater patrick chan could take home the gold in the men free skate
germany issues arrest warrant for ex argentine dictator
berlin jan afp
german justice authorities said monday they have ordered an international arrest
warrant for ex argentine military dictator jorge rafael videla over the killing
of german citizen while he was in power
spokesman for the prosecutor office in the southern city of nuremberg told
afp that the warrant pertained to the murder of german student rolf stawowiok in
the
the prosecutor office applied for an arrest warrant at the end of december
and it has come through in the meantime he said
winter olympics advisory
paris jan afp
the winter olympics take place in vancouver from february and afp
sports is filing package of advancers
in the build up to the games we are filing individual sports previews guides
to the ins and outs of winter sports as well as focus on the stars to watch on
the snow and ice of vancouver and whistler
we will also be filing series of colour stories focussing on national
prospects as well as the offbeat side to the olympics
questions queries etc can be directed to our olympic desk contact is
david james afp com
we are about to move
oly can preview
los angeles
canada is hoping to use its home field advantage to snap its gold medal drought
at the olympic games even if it means upsetting its powerful next door
neighbour
words by greg heakes
oly gbr preview
paris
britain is aiming to better their previous best winter olympics medal haul
dating back years although sudden cash crisis has cast cloud over the
build up to the games
words by luke phillips
oly rus preview
moscow
russia which still sees itself as winter sports superpower is optimistic
about its prospects in vancouver despite suffering an unaccustomed slump in its
fortunes last year
words by alexander fedorets
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at least more german troops for afghanistan reports
berlin jan afp
germany is considering sending at least more troops to afghanistan reports
said on monday ahead of crunch conference in london later this week on the
future of the international mission
the rheinische post regional daily said chancellor angela merkel has agreed with
her defence and foreign ministers on the increase together with realignment of
its mission to focus more on training the afghan security forces
