october
shares in cosmetics maker shiseido soared percent to yen on news it
will spend billion dollars to buy bare escentuals of the united states
and troubled japan airlines which has lost around percent this week over
fears it is about to apply for bankruptcy fell one yen to yen
sydney closed flat after spending much of the day in the red
the amp asx was up points at thanks to late rally after
commonwealth bank of australia said it expected big rise in first half cash
profit
regional stocks had been weighed by disappointing data from the united states
that showed retail sales fell unexpectedly by percent in december
analysts had expected gain of percent in sales the key driver of us
economic activity
but technology stocks were boosted after intel said net profit soared nearly
nine fold by percent to billion dollars in the three months to
december
intel also said it expects revenue of between billion dollars and
billion dollars this quarter better than the billion dollars forecast by
analysts
the dollar dropped to yen in tokyo afternoon trade from in new york
late thursday as the impact of the retail data set in while the euro slid to
dollars from and holding steady at yen
in asian oil trade concerns over demand in the united states sent new york
main contract light sweet crude for february delivery cents lower to
dollars barrel
brent north sea crude for march delivery dropped cents to dollars
gold was at us dollars an ounce in hong kong in the afternoon down
from thursday close of dollars
in other markets
seoul was percent or points up at
bellwether samsung electronics gained percent to won hitting
record price and hynix semiconductor climbed percent to fresh
week high
singapore closed flat the straits times index edging down points to
taipei rose percent or points to its best level since
june
au optronics added percent to taiwan dollars and innolux rose
percent to both boosted by the intel data
kuala lumpur was percent or points higher at
jakarta was flat rising points to
manila lost percent or points to on profit taking
wellington fell percent or points to
frankfurt airport traffic posts first gain since may operator
frankfurt jan afp
passenger traffic at frankfurt airport the third biggest in europe rose in
december for the first time since may though the full year figure fell
airport operator fraport said friday
total of million passengers used the european hub last month an increase
of percent from december statement said
despite adverse weather conditions this has been the first increase in
passenger figures at our frankfurt home base since may fraport chairman
stefan schulte said
we have finally emerged from the trough of recession in the air transportation
business he added
intercontinental traffic gained percent last month growth dynamics not
seen in many years the statement said
for all of however passenger traffic fell by percent to more than
million passengers it added
freight traffic posted strong gain in december meanwhile jumping by
percent to tonnes while slipping over the full year by percent to
million tonnes
formula one lotus to unveil car february team principal
kuala lumpur jan afp
lotus will unveil its racing car on february for return to formula one
after more than years out of the sport its malaysian team principal said on
friday
turning on engines on the fifth official launch th february tony
fernandes an aviation mogul who founded budget carrier airasia said on his
twitter account
last month the new malaysian backed lotus team named jarno trulli of italy and
finland heikki kovalainen as its drivers for the season which begins in
bahrain on march
lotus ceo riad asmat told afp the car launch will take place in england but
the exact venue had not been decided yet
the firing up the car engine on february will be very big thing and on
february we will be doing our shakedown and straight line test in
silverstone riad said
we will then go for further testing in two fia sanctioned test races in jerez
spain from february to and barcelona from february to he added
after bahrain comes australia on march and then malaysia
we would love to bring the car back to malaysia for the launch but it is just
not possible with the schedule but it will be here two weeks before the
malaysian leg which is on april and riad said
lotus is making its return to after competing from to and is one
of four new teams on this season grid
the new outfit is funded by public private partnership involving string of
top malaysian entrepreneurs
the lotus team is based in norfolk england
cyprus arrests three in media boss killing
nicosia jan afp
three suspects have been arrested in connection with the cold blooded killing of
cyprus media boss andis hadjicostis who was shot dead outside his nicosia home
police said on friday
the arrests took place on thursday night and the trio were to appear in court on
friday
hadjicostis was ambushed monday by two men while getting out of his car
outside his home about metres yards from the heavily guarded us embassy
and shot twice at close range in the chest and the back
the three suspects thought to be cypriots are believed to be the gunman
the getaway driver and the person who organised the killing according to media
reports reportedly they were known to police from other crime investigations
the father of two was chief executive of the dias media group one of the
island largest which owns the sigma tv channel radio proto daily
newspaper simerini and other publications
according to state television one of the suspects had been questioned earlier
in the week and when his alibi came unstuck search warrant was issued for his
home
it is understood police believe fourth person ordered the contract hit
the breakthrough came day after hundreds of family and friends paid their last
farewell to the popular publisher who is credited with revolutionising the local
tv industry and revamping the simerini daily
president demetris christofias had called on the police to pull out all the
stops to solve the cold blooded murder of the media mogul
tv and radio shows have been inundated by people expressing their horror and
disbelief over the killing
police believe the motive behind the shooting was financial and personal rather
than political
korea accepts food aid from korea seoul official
seoul jan afp
north korea has accepted south korea offer of tons of food aid an
official with seoul unification ministry said friday
south korea had offered the corn shipment last october but there had been no
response from the north until now the shipment will be seoul first official
aid to its hungry neighbour for two years
angola protests to french government over togo attack
luanda jan afp
an angolan minister has accused french authorities of failing to take action
against exiled separatist rebels linked to gun attack on togo national
football team
angola foreign minister assuncao dos anjos said leaders of the front for the
liberation of enclave of cabinda flec were living in france and called for
paris to hunt them down
two flec splinter groups claimed responsibility for the january attack on the
togolese football team in angola oil rich enclave of cabinda ahead of the
africa cup of nations
we called the representative of the french government accredited here in angola
so we could present note of protest from our country and our government
referring to this attack carried out in cabinda the minister said
the minister said the protest note was issued because the angolan government
did not feel that france had put in motion the necessary judicial mechanisms
to pursue the physical and moral authors of this terrorist attack
standards group sgs sees profit drop in
geneva jan afp
the world biggest standards inspection and certification group sgs on friday
reported an percent drop in annual profit in in challenging
economic environment
profit attributable to shareholders reached million swiss francs
million euros million dollars sgs said in statement
the swiss company said its net profit was stable before exceptional items at
million francs and underlying figures marked growth
sgs helps monitor official standards in industry retail and trade
revenue declined percent compared to the previous year to billion
francs slightly below analysts expectations of billion francs
sgs said it had faced challenging economic environment in affecting
many if not all in some measure of the geographies and market segments in
which the group participates notably the americas and western europe
sgs forecast good performance for with an increase in earnings over
levels
alert
some million live in areas hit by haiti quake un
china names new tibet governor stability top priority
beijing jan afp
china on friday named as its new tibet governor military veteran who vowed to
ensure stability in the himalayan region two years after massive unrest
prompted huge security crackdown
padma choling an ethnic tibetan and year veteran of the people
liberation army was promoted to replace qiangba puncog who stepped down
earlier in the week xinhua news agency reported
qiangba puncog the public face of the government crackdown on ethnic
separatism in the region which began following anti china riots in lhasa in
march was named head of the regional parliament the agency said
stability is of overwhelming importance xinhua quoted padma choling as saying
while accepting his new position
we will firmly oppose all attempts at secession safeguard national unification
and security and maintain unity among different ethnic groups in tibet
padma choling was earlier this month named deputy secretary of tibet communist
party the second highest post in the region
appointing former military officer as the figurehead leader of tibet
suggests that china now sees tibet as problem of military control robbie
barnett noted tibetan scholar at columbia university told afp in an email
china said people were killed by rioters in and that security forces
killed only one insurgent
but the tibetan government in exile headed by the dalai lama claimed that more
than people were killed and some hurt in the unrest and subsequent
crackdown
at least people were arrested during the period the government has said
with many buddhist monks given long prison terms
barnett said troop levels remained heavy in lhasa old tibetan quarter
months after the riots
chinese troops invaded tibet in and officially annexed the region year
later the dalai lama who fled his homeland following the uprising has
repeatedly accused beijing of widespread rights violations there
beijing has countered that the dalai lama is seeking an independent tibet and
fomenting separatist forces in the region charges that the nobel peace
prize winner denies
regional communist party party secretary zhang qingli also former military
official is expected to retain his post in the ongoing reshuffle
although tibet is nominally an autonomous region the region leader has always
been an ethnic chinese han
the ongoing crackdown has also spread to other tibetan inhabited regions of
china such as sichuan province where respected buddhist lama phurbu tsering
rinpoche was sentenced to over eight years in jail for illegal possession of
ammunition and embezzlement in december
the monk has denied all charges with supporters claiming the evidence was
planted by police eager to silence the leading tibetan spiritual leader
thai airways charges ex boss dollars for baggage
bangkok jan afp
thai airways has charged its former executive chairman dollars for excess
luggage that he failed to pay for on flight in an incident which led to his
resignation the flag carrier said friday
wallop bhukkanasut quit the airline earlier this month after being accused of
exploiting his position by transporting pieces of luggage weighing kilos
pounds from japan to bangkok in november
the airline launched an investigation and documents showed wallop had travelled
with his wife and friend on first class tickets which would only have
permitted them to carry luggage weighing kilos for free
the baggage was delivered to the airline lost and found office bypassing
usual customs procedures without wallop paying the full excess fee
the net excess baggage that was not paid for was kilos so the company has
decided to charge wallop baht dollars said ampon kittiampon
chairman of the company board
he did not say how the company would pursue wallop for the cash
wallop has admitted the baggage belonged to him but denied he sought to
transport the goods for commercial gain the case received widespread coverage
in the thai media
thai airways posted loss of billion baht in and was hit hard by the
global financial crisis and political protests that closed bangkok airports in
november december
but ampon said the company turned profit in though it would continue its
cost cutting policy
the airline president piyasvasti amranand said last year that he wanted to
end freeloading by current and former executives of the airline many of whom
claimed free first class seats as matter of course
sluggish oil demand for developed world in iea
paris jan afp
oil demand in will be sluggish in the developed world with emerging
markets accounting for any increases and top producers switching supplies to
eastern growth markets the iea said on friday
the international energy agency also warned of possible downside risks to
economic recovery for members of the organisation for economic cooperation and
development oecd grouping of of the world richest economies
oil demand recovery in the oecd will likely remain sluggish the paris based
iea said in its monthly oil market report
demand growth in derives entirely from outside the oecd it added
the iea left unchanged an earlier forecast of percent rise in demand in
from to million barrels per day mbd
the report explained that much of that increase would come from asian markets
and some of it from latin america and the former soviet union
in the united states the world biggest economy and largest oil consumer the
iea said demand continues to fall relative to very weak baseline
the us economy remains fragile the iea added
as the map of oil demand changes the world biggest producers like russia and
saudi arabia are turning their attention to growth markets and reducing supplies
to europe and the united states the iea said
saudi arabia has been increasingly diverting both grades arab heavy and arab
medium crude oil to meet growing domestic power generation and higher sales
into asian markets the report said
saudi exports of arab heavy to europe in the first nine months of were down
to just kbd crude oil measurement unit from kbd in and
kbd in while export volumes to asia have gone up it added
russia is following similar trend with the inauguration in december of new
asian export terminal in eastern russia and rerouting of crude oil from
baltic and black sea ports to the east in the iea continued
urgent korea accepts food aid from korea seoul official
seoul jan afp
north korea has accepted south korea offer of tons of food aid seoul
official said friday
tennis sydney international results st update
sydney jan afp
results from the sixth day of the sydney international wta atp tennis tournament
on friday denotes seed
men
semi finals
richard gasquet fra bt julien benneteau fra
marcos baghdatis cyp bt mardy fish usa
sluggish oil demand for developed world in iea
paris jan afp
oil demand in will be sluggish in the developed world with emerging
markets accounting for any increases and top producers switching supplies to
eastern growth markets the iea said on friday
the international energy agency also warned of possible downside risks to
economic recovery for members of the organisation for economic cooperation and
development oecd grouping of of the world richest economies
alert
korea to accept food aid from korea seoul officials
half of opel german staff to work shorter hours company
frankfurt jan afp
around opel workers roughly half the german automaker domestic
workforce will work fewer hours in january and february owing to slumping
sales spokesman told afp on friday
the measure will represent few days of unemployment per month he said
we are in an economic crisis and we have to adapt the spokesman added
in december however the european unit of us car maker general motors hailed
percent jump in sales to vehicles its best result in four
years
the auto industry expects sales to be sharply lower in europe however after
state subsidies for scrapping older cars are withdrawn
germany short working time programme under which the government partially
subsidises pay for those whose hours have been cut has allowed car companies to
trim production forces as demand falls off
the scheme has been extended several times by german authorities
meanwhile opel supervisory board was to meet on friday to discuss managmement
changes
gm named finance director walter borst as head of the board in december
the head of gm europe nick reilly is working on restructuring plan for opel
that foresees job cuts and hopes to obtain billion euros billion
dollars in public aid to carry it out
urgent sluggish oil demand for developed world in iea
paris jan afp
oil demand in will be sluggish in the developed world with emerging
markets accounting for any increases and top producers switching supplies to
eastern growth markets the iea said on friday
hong kong shares end percent lower
hong kong jan afp
hong kong shares closed lower on friday as investors remained wary of possible
further monetary tightening moves from beijing aimed at keeping economic growth
in check
the benchmark hang seng index reversed early gains to fall percent or
points to turnover was billion hong kong dollars
billion us
worries about more possible tightening measures from beijing and concerns over
chinese lenders fundraising needs are likely to weigh on local shares in the
near term alvin cheung an associate director at prudential brokerage said
oil companies led the blue chip fall as crude prices dropped cnooc fell
percent to hong kong dollars and petrochina was down percent at
at gmt february crude was down us cents at dollars barrel on
the new york mercantile exchange
bank of china rose on bargain hunting despite the concerns over monetary
tightening with lender gaining percent to after falling percent in
the past six sessions
handset maker foxconn international was up however adding percent to
on expectations of recovery in the handset market this year
in china investors picked up bargains in the afternoon to send the market
percent higher after spending early trade in the red
the shanghai composite index which covers both and shares was up
points at on turnover of billion yuan billion dollars
property developers and banks rebounded on bargain hunting
however guoyuan securities analyst simon wang told dow jones newswires it
just technical rebound and the upside is likely limited as concerns over
monetary tightening are still lingering
shanghai pudong development bank added percent to yuan china vanke
rose percent at yuan
but steel makers fell as steel prices dropped
baoshan iron and steel fell percent to yuan wuhan iron and steel shed
percent to yuan
orange to broadcast shanghai expo content in europe
shanghai jan afp
france telecom orange signed deal friday to broadcast content from this
year world expo in shanghai on phones across europe as part of technology
partnership with the shanghai media group
orange said it will work with the shanghai broadcaster new media unit bestv to
develop internet protocol television or iptv and related technology that
allows content to be watched on television computers and mobile phones
new internet and digital technologies have opened an extremely large field of
possibilities the most spectacular allows customers to see the same images on
three screens france telecom chairman and ceo didier lombard said at
ceremony
lombard said the two companies have been working together for more than year
one possibility they envision is developing an applications store for iptv
similar to the iphone model while working together to develop standards and
equipment orange said in statement
lombard said this year six month world expo which begins on may presented
an opportunity to showcase the technology around the world
bestv is the exclusive new media partner for this year expo which expects to
attract million mostly chinese visitors
shanghai media group president li ruigang said content to be sent out to orange
clients in europe would include videos games and virtual tour of the expo
site
france telecom most visible presence in china the world largest mobile
market with million subscribers is research centre set up in with
china telecom china biggest fixed line operator by subscribers
when asked if france telecom was looking for investment or joint venture
opportunities with chinese companies lombard told afp it is too soon to say
jqf dd sai dan
alert
iea sees sluggish oil demand for developed world in
china says google row will not affect trade ties with us
beijing jan afp
china said friday that google threat to stop operating in the country would
not affect sino us trade ties after washington pressed for an explanation of
china based cyberattacks on the internet giant
however china insisted that google must obey its laws after the company said
it would no longer bow to the communist country army of internet censors by
filtering search results available on google cn
the us firm whose unofficial motto is don be evil said it could
abandon its chinese search engine and perhaps shut its offices in the world
largest online market by users over theft of its intellectual property
no matter what decision google makes it will not affect overall trade and
economic relations between china and the united states commerce ministry
spokesman yao jian told reporters
the two countries have multiple communication channels we are confident in the
healthy development of economic and trade relations between china and the united
states
in beijing first official reaction thursday foreign ministry spokeswoman
insisted china internet was open but defended its censorship system and said
foreign firms must abide by the law
yao echoed those remarks saying foreign firms operating in china should
respect the laws public interest culture and traditions in host countries
and take on social responsibilities accordingly
china is transferring from traditional planned economy to socialist market
economy stability and development are our top priorities at the current stage
the commerce ministry spokesman said
he said google should make the right choice about its future noting that
china development would benefit both the country itself and companies doing
business there
google said the cyberattacks were likely aimed at gaining access to the gmail
accounts of chinese human rights activists but has said it does not believe
that goal was achieved
the row has threatened to rattle ties between washington and beijing already
frayed over number of issues from the copenhagen climate change debacle to
the value of the chinese yuan and number of other trade disputes
earlier this week secretary of state hillary clinton demanded answers from
china over the google case on thursday state department spokesman philip
crowley said chinese embassy and us officials had met in washington
crowley said the issue raises questions about both internet freedom and the
security of the internet in china home to more than million web users
according to latest chinese government figures
google said more than other unidentified firms were targeted in the highly
sophisticated attacks believed to have originated in china while other
reports have put the number of companies attacked at more than
officials in washington have been reluctant to comment on how the google case
could affect ties but one official warned of future diplomatic fallout
if this was part of deliberate strategy on behalf of china it has
implications said the official who asked not to be named
us lawmakers on thursday hailed google move and touted draft bill that would
prohibit us firms from storing users personal information in countries that
restrict the peaceful expression of political and religious views online
under the proposed global online freedom act companies would also have to
report to the state department which search terms countries were trying to
filter out
google sent thrill of encouragement through the hearts of millions of
chinese republican representative chris smith the bill chief sponsor told
news conference it is game changer
but it companies are not powerful enough to stand up to repressive government
like china said smith
without us government support they are inevitably forced to be ever more
complicit in the repressive governments censorship and surveillance
experts said the issue highlighted deep differences between china and the united
states despite mutual claims of solid relationship but added it was too
early to tell whether the google case would directly impact ties
the problems that google is running into are part of general squall line in
the larger storm of how china deals with the us said russell leigh moses
beijing based political analyst
web security firm mcafee said the attacks on google and other companies showed
level of sophistication beyond that of cyber criminals and more typical of
nation state
microsoft on thursday advised internet explorer users to boost their security
settings after discovering that weakness in the web browser allowed the
hackers to attack google
microsoft chief executive steve ballmer said the us software giant took
cyberattacks seriously but had no plans to pull out of china and would abide
by local law
michelin says to shut japanese plant
tokyo jan afp
french tyre maker michelin announced friday it would close its japanese plant
which employs about people and move the production to other sites in asia
europe and north america
the company blamed the move on the global economic crisis and the high
production costs at the ota plant north of tokyo
despite measures taken in particular since to improve productivity
reduce production costs and from refocus on the production of complex
products such as ice tyres the production cost at ota plant remains around
twice as high as those of other plants serving that tyre segment it said
michelin has been investing heavily to build new plants in fast growing emerging
markets such as india and brazil where labour costs are lower than in japan
the french group stung by slump in sales is cutting more than jobs in
france
michelin said it would retain presence in japan home to its arch rival
bridgestone with research and development programmes and sales network in the
world number two economy
it said it would help the ota plant employees look for new jobs either with
michelin or elsewhere
japan bridgestone which vies with france michelin to be the world top
tyremaker has also been hit hard by the global economic downturn which
triggered slump in sales of cars and other vehicles
in october bridgestone said it would shed nearly jobs in australia and new
zealand as it closes manufacturing plants there
afp world news agenda
paris jan afp
what coming up around the world
un bulletin on haiti quake rescue effort
final push for votes in ukraine election
port au prince geneva un aid agencies including the world health organisation
unicef and the world food programme give press conference in geneva on situation
in quake hit haiti at gmt as rescuers continue their search for survivors
haiti quake un aid
kiev final day of campaigning ahead of sunday presidential elections including
concert in support of opposition candidate viktor yanukovich in kiev at
gmt picture ukraine vote
beijing china first pageant for gay men the latest sign of possible relaxing
attitudes toward gays in country where homosexuality has long been kept firmly
in society closet takes place at gmt lifestyle china homosexuality
pageant
beirut hezbollah chief hassan nasrallah delivers speech via video in support
of resistance movements speech at gmt lebanon hezbollah
moscow russia duma set to ratify protocol aimed at reforming the european
court of human rights russia is last country in the council of europe that has
not ratified the protocol russia europe justice rights
new york banking giant jpmorgan chase publishes earnings results and reveals
bonus figures for some employees us economy banking
