Business Recorder articles from March 2002, page 6

Business Recorder archives from March 2002

Alitalia okays vital 1.4 billion euro recap plan via convertible bonds.
March 30, 2002... ROME : The board of Italian airline Alitalia approved on Friday a re-capitalisation plan of up to 1.432 billion euros ($1.25 billion) seen as vital to revive the fortunes of the loss-making group. Alitalia said in a statement the...

Japan broker Monex considers merger, shares up.
March 30, 2002... TOKYO : The shares of Japan's biggest online broker service, Monex Inc, rose nearly 11 percent on Friday morning after the company said it was considering a merger with DLJdirect SFG Securities Inc. Shares in Monex, affiliated with...

Czech bonds edge down, crown touches new highs.
March 30, 2002... PRAGUE : The Czech crown rose slightly to touch new record highs versus the euro in thin Friday trade, with the market betting on more gains amid few signs of imminent central bank action against the currency. The lack of action or tough...

Uganda's inflation shrinks to minus 2.5 percent.
March 30, 2002... KAMPALA : Uganda's annual inflation rose to minus 2.5 percent in March from minus 3.0 percent in February, but remained in negative territory as food prices continued to drop due to better harvests countrywide, the Uganda Bureau of Statistics...

Two small Thailand State banks to merge.
March 30, 2002... BANGKOK : Thailand's central bank said on Friday it would merge two state banks with assets of more than $11 billion to create a single competitive institution, which analysts said may soon be privatised. Bangkok Metropolitan Bank Plc...

Turkish contraction seen deeper in fourth quarter 2001.
March 30, 2002... ISTANBUL : Turkish gross domestic product is expected to have contracted by 7.29 percent in 2001 while gross national product may have shrunk even more than the government's estimate of 8.5 percent, a Reuters poll on Friday showed. ...

Turkish Prime Minister wants more say in banks, regulators.
March 30, 2002... ISTANBUL : Turkish Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit said on Friday his government wanted more control over the independent state banks and banking regulators it created under IMF-backed reforms. "The independent institutions have to be more...

Thailand output growth suggests hopes of recovery.
March 30, 2002... BANGKOK : Thai industrial output grew faster than expected in February, central bank data showed on Friday, suggesting the economy may be beginning to recover despite a recent sharp decline in exports. Figures from the Bank of Thailand...

Some German third-generation firms may fail.
March 30, 2002... FRANKFURT : France Telecom chairman Michel Bon said four smaller holders of UMTS licences in Germany might not survive if they were not allowed to merge activities, a magazine reported on Friday. "Not all six competitors can survive. (If...

Serb Telekom buys Alcatel equipment for 21.78 million dollar.
March 30, 2002... BELGRADE : Serbian telecoms firm Telekom Srbija, part-owned by Greeks and Italians, said on Friday it had agreed with French Alcatel to buy digital equipment worth 25 million euros ($21.78 million) to upgrade land lines. The purchase is...

Senior Chinese, Asean officials to talk trade in May.
March 30, 2002... BEIJING : Senior officials from China and the Association of South East Asian Nations (Asean) will meet in May to prepare for talks on establishing a free trade zone, the state-run Xinhua news agency said. Long Yongtu, Chin'a...

Russia sees 2003-05 GDP growth at 2.6 to 4.5 percent.
March 30, 2002... MOSCOW : The Russian government said on Friday it expected the country's annual gross domestic product to increase by 2.6-4.5 percent in 2003-2005 depending on world prices for oil, the country's main export. In a forecast posted on its...

Russia cuts revenue collection target due to oil.
March 30, 2002... MOSCOW : The Russian government expects lower than forecast budget revenues in the second quarter of this year due to fluctuating world oil prices, Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin said. Despite prices for oil, Russia's staple export,...

Lithuanian economy sees brisk growth of 5.9 percent.
March 30, 2002... VILNIUS : Lithuania's economy saw brisk growth of 5.9 percent last year in an expansion led by exports and manufacturing, the statistics department said on Friday. The single largest sector in the economy, manufacturing also saw the...

South Korean new central bank chief sees economy not overheating.
March 30, 2002... SEOUL : The man about to take over the reins at South Korea's central bank gave nervous bond markets a fresh boost on Friday, dismissing suggestions that the economy might be expanding too fast. South Korea's bond market has been rattled...

Italian consumer prices rise.
March 30, 2002... ROME : Italian consumer prices rose a preliminary 0.1 percent in March, pushed up by higher costs of hotels, restaurants, transport and clothes, but coming in slightly below estimates released earlier in the month. On a year-on-year...

Greece to show pension reform plan by end-April.
March 30, 2002... ATHENS : Greece will present by April a financing plan for much-need social security reforms which rank among the government's top priorities, Finance Minister Nikos Christodoulakis said on Friday. Greece started a second round of social...

German metalworkers' union spreads strikes to west.
March 30, 2002... BERLIN : Germany's second largest union, IG Metall, kicked off a series of warning strikes at engineering companies in the western states on Friday to pressure employers to meet their claim for a hefty wage rise. IG Metall chief Klaus...

Bulgaria to offer Paris Club debt, investment swap.
March 30, 2002... SOFIA : Bulgaria said on Friday it would launch talks with the Paris Club of official creditors to swap part of its $375 million debt to the club against investment in local companies due to be privatised. The move is part of the small...

Czech central banker keeps intervention option open.
March 30, 2002... PRAGUE : Foreign exchange intervention is a tool the Czech central bank can use to weaken the crown, Vice Governor Oldrich Dedek was quoted as saying on Friday, one day after the currency hit a record high against the euro. The comment,...

World Bank may support Turkish industry.
March 30, 2002... ANKARA : The World Bank's director for Turkey said on Friday the international lender was keen to help the manufacturing sector and would discuss in April how much lending it might provide. The World Bank said earlier this week a team...

Vietnam eases rules on payment, overdraft services.
March 30, 2002... HANOI : Vietnam's central bank said on Friday it issued a decision allowing non-bank institutions to offer account and payment services and overdrafts. "So far only banks have been allowed to provide payment services; this new rule...

US consumer spending up at brisk pace in February.
March 30, 2002... WASHINGTON : US consumer spending grew briskly in February as incomes rose at the fastest pace since December 2000, the government said on Friday, as the nascent economic recovery picked up speed. US consumer spending increased 0.6...

Taiwan allows chipmakers to open plants in China.
March 30, 2002... TAIPEI : Taiwan lifted a ban on local chipmakers building plants in political arch-rival China on Friday but set tough conditions for what it called a "small-scale, low-level opening". Though Taiwan made good on a promise to lift the...

Standard & Poor's cuts GenTek corporate credit rating.
March 30, 2002... NEW YORK : Standard & Poor's said today it lowered its corporate credit rating on GenTek Inc to single-'B'-minus from double-'B'-minus due to GenTek's much weaker-than-expected financial performance, which has reduced credit protection...

Moody's defends rating policies.
March 30, 2002... NEW YORK : Responding to criticism that it tries to suppress competition, Moody's Investors Service said on Thursday its practice of notching - lowering ratings of bonds rated by other credit agencies - was an accommodation made to the...

Japanese trade minister to meet USTR Zoellick on steel.
March 30, 2002... TOKYO : Japanese Trade Minister Takeo Hiranuma said on Friday he planned to express his opposition to US tariffs on steel imports when he meets US Trade Representative Robert Zoellick in early April. "We have asked the United States to...

Japan to loan Turkey $91 million for quake-hit bridges.
March 30, 2002... ANKARA : Japan on Friday signed an agreement to loan Turkey about $91 million to help strengthen Istanbul's bridges and viaducts against earthquakes, the Turkish Treasury said. A massive earthquake that hit north-western Turkey in 1999...

Tax reform to lift Japanese economy.
March 30, 2002... TOKYO : Japanese policymakers said on Friday they would implement tax reforms to kick life into the stagnant economy, but the announcement lacked hard details and fell short of hopes for more radical steps. "We will try to create a tax...

Japanese industrial output rises.
March 30, 2002... TOKYO : A rebound in industrial production in February gave Japan's long-suffering economy some hope for growth in the new fiscal year starting Monday, but weak consumer spending looks set to restrain any turnaround. Output at Japan's...

Economic conditions still tough in Japan: Takenaka.
March 30, 2002... TOKYO : Economics Minister Heizo Takenaka said on Friday that economic indicators released earlier in the day suggested conditions remained tough in Japan, especially as regards jobs. "Economic conditions continue to be very severe...

French unemployment rate steady.
March 30, 2002... PARIS : France's jobless rate held steady at 9.0 percent in February, with the economy showing signs of picking up as leading candidates in this spring's presidential election bank on a recovery to deliver tax cuts. The Labour Ministry...

Eichel welcomes upbeat German growth outlook.
March 30, 2002... BERLIN : German Finance Minister Hans Eichel welcomed the latest upbeat growth forecasts for Germany on Friday and promised that Europe's biggest economy would stick to its promises of fiscal discipline. "The prognoses for Germany are...

Asian finance ministers to meet in Yangon next week.
March 30, 2002... YANGON : Finance ministers and senior central bank officials from 13 Asia countries including Japan and China will meet in the Myanmar capital of Yangon next week to discuss regional economic integration, officials said on Friday. A...

China and European Union break down some steel trade barriers.
March 30, 2002... BEIJING : China said late on Friday the European Union was giving it the same preferred treatment as a developing country with regards to protective barriers on steel products following bilateral consultations. The move ensures China...

French drug firm offers US smallpox vaccine stores.
March 30, 2002... WASHINGTON : A French drug company on Friday offered to donate up to 90 million doses of decades-old smallpox vaccine, and the United States said it would accept if the supplies still are effective against the deadly disease that could be...

New York Federal Reserve Bank asked for discount rate cut in January.
March 30, 2002... WASHINGTON : As recently as January, with the US economy starting to show tentative signs of life, the influential New York Federal Reserve Bank saw the need for one more interest rate cut, minutes released by the Federal Reserve on Friday...

Dot.com job cuts jump in March after decline.
March 30, 2002... NEW YORK : US Internet job cuts rose by 131 percent in March after four months of consecutive declines, but were down considerably from the year-earlier period, according to a report on Friday by outplacement firm Challenger Gray & Christmas...

Battered Andersen backs Volcker split-up plan.
March 30, 2002... NEW YORK : Accounting firm Andersen will back away from its consulting business and focus on auditing as it fights a criminal indictment over audits that failed to flag the looming collapse of energy trader Enron Corp, former US Federal...

French balanced budget by 2004 not possible: Chirac.
March 30, 2002... PARIS : French President Jacques Chirac said on Friday there was no legal requirement that France balance its public finances by 2004, and that he did not see it being possible by that deadline but perhaps by 2005. "I do not think that...

Italian food maker's 2001 profit up but sales slow.
March 30, 2002... MILAN : Italian food maker Parmalat said on Friday it raised group net profit by 12.2 percent last year but sales slowed, hurt by Latin America's economic problems and currency depreciation in other markets around the world. Parmalat...

Vietnam cuts oil products import tax.
March 30, 2002... HANOI : Vietnam has cut import duties on petrol, naphtha, reformat and other products used for blending petrol to 35 percent from 40 percent, following recent rises in world oil prices, state media said on Friday. The Nhan Dan (People)...

USDA sets special cotton import quota.
March 30, 2002... WASHINGTON : High US cotton export prices again have required the US Agriculture Department to set a special import quota, the USDA said on Thursday. The latest quota will allow domestic firms to import up to 141,745 bales of upland...

USDA revises data on soyabean exports to Canada.
March 30, 2002... CHICAGO : The US Agriculture Department said on Thursday it had begun revising data on American soybean exports to Canada following complaints that US figures did not match up with Canadian statistics. "The main reason (for the revision)...

US foreign crude hefty sweet barrels on offer in Gulf.
March 30, 2002... NEW YORK : Hefty volumes of sweet crude grades were offered, while some sour cargoes traded in the US foreign cash crude market, traders said Thursday. Trade was light on Thursday ahead of the Good Friday holiday as dealers left their...

Ukraine ends duty-free Moldavian sugar imports.
March 30, 2002... KIEV : Ukraine said on Friday it had stopped duty-free white sugar imports from neighbouring Moldova in a bid to protect the country's domestic sugar industry. Ukraine's State Customs Committee said in a statement that the ban came into...

US spot fuel oil prices higher.
March 30, 2002... NEW YORK : US spot fuel oil prices continued to march higher Thursday in moderate pre-holiday trade, driven by a still-firm crude market, reports of some utility buying and colder forecasts for later next week, sources said. "We're...

Turkey sells white feed barley bellow tender offer.
March 30, 2002... ANKARA : Turkey's state grain board (TMO) said on Friday it sold only 8,000 tonnes of white feed barley at a tender in which it had offered as much as 145,000 tonnes. TMO said in a statement that it had not sold any dark feed barley at...

Tokyo naphtha prices up in quiet trade.
March 30, 2002... TOKYO : Tokyo naphtha prices were higher on Friday, helped by crude price gains, but activity was extremely thin as most major overseas markets were closed for the Easter holiday, traders said. But traders said they would be watching...

Tokyo rubber slips as long liquidation accelerates.
March 30, 2002... TOKYO : Tokyo rubber futures settled lower for the fourth straight day on Friday as long liquidation dominated trade at the end of the business year, analysts said. The benchmark September 2002 contract closed down 2.8 yen per kg at...

Tokyo gold loses ground on last day of fiscal year.
March 30, 2002... TOKYO : Yen-based gold futures trickled lower on Friday, surrendering gains as tension in the Middle East rattled the dollar and players snapped up profits on the last day of the fiscal year. With much of the world on holiday, the...

Tokyo energy rises, most contracts hit fresh highs.
March 30, 2002... TOKYO : Energy futures on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange (TOCOM) ended higher across the board on Friday, tracking overnight gains in crude oil prices, brokers said. With the Nymex ACCESS market closed for Easter holiday, there was no...

Thai rubber prices seen steady before growers moot.
March 30, 2002... BANGKOK : Thai rubber prices are likely to stay stable next week, with traders sitting tight to assess a deal by the world's top natural rubber growers, Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia, to buy up supplies and boost prices. Ministers...

Management and union to hold talks next week over Umicore zinc plant strike.
March 30, 2002... PARIS : Management and unions will meet next week to discuss a strike that has halted production at a French zinc smelter owned by Belgian non-ferrous metals producer Umicore, officials said on Friday. Most staff at Umicore's zinc plant...

Taiwan steel firms to negotiate exports with China.
March 30, 2002... TAIPEI : Taiwan steel producers, facing dumping complaints from China, said on Friday they would take the opportunity next month of a previously scheduled trip to China to discuss voluntary cut backs in exports. The offer to slow exports...

South Korean Kepco to issue oil tender.
March 30, 2002... SEOUL : Korea East-West Power Co has issued a tender to buy 72,000 tonnes of 2.5 percent sulphur fuel oil for May delivery into Ulsan, a company official said on Friday. The tender by the unit of state-run power monopoly Korea Electric...

Shanghai exchange copper stocks hit four-year high.
March 30, 2002... SHANGHAI : The Shanghai Futures Exchange said on Friday copper stocks in its warehouses surged by 7,707 tonnes to 218,139 tonnes in the week ended on Thursday, the highest level for at least four years. The stocks have risen sharply since...

Shanghai copper futures higher.
March 30, 2002... SHANGHAI : Shanghai copper futures rose on Friday as Chinese investors took heart from a rise on the London Metal Exchange and ignored swelling domestic stocks that hit the highest level in at least four years, traders said. The active...

South Korean February oil demand increases.
March 30, 2002... SEOUL : South Korean oil products consumption edged up 0.5 percent in February from a year ago on increased use of transportation during holidays, the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy said on Friday. Demand for refined petroleum...

Russian weekly grain market report.
March 30, 2002... MOSCOW : Russian grain markets were bearish in the week to March 27 with some panic-selling by holders of excessive grain stocks, traders said. They said third-class food wheat prices were declining intensively especially in Western...

Russia hopes US poultry ban would be lifted soon.
March 30, 2002... MOSCOW : Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov has told US Secretary of State Colin Powell that he hopes a ban on US poultry imports could be lifted soon, the Foreign Ministry said. "It was stressed that active work by Russian and US...

Russian February wholesale sugar prices fall.
March 30, 2002... MOSCOW : Russian average wholesale white sugar price fell to 10,464 roubles per tonne in February this year from 11,406 roubles a year earlier, the State Statistics Committee said on Monday. Month-on-month, it posted an increase from...

Rights group to pressure M&M on fair trade cocoa.
March 30, 2002... NEW YORK : Non-profit organisation Global Exchange plans to begin a campaign this weekend intended to pressure privately held chocolate manufacturer M&M/Mars to use so-called "fair trade certified" cocoa beans, a spokesman for the human...

Rain cheers Vietnam coffee, but officials cautious.
March 30, 2002... HANOI : Heavy rain in the past week in Vietnam's coffee-growing Central Highlands has revived hopes of a better-than-forecast 2002/2003 crop, but agriculture officials said the next harvest would still yield much less than normal. ...

Pepsi Cola takes National Football League sponsorship away from Coke.
March 30, 2002... ATLANTA : Pepsi Cola Inc fired the latest volley in the cola wars on Thursday, announcing a multi-year deal to replace arch-rival Coca-Cola Co as the official soft drink sponsor of the National Football League In what sources close to...

All Mexican oil ports reopen after bad weather clears.
March 30, 2002... NEW YORK : All of Mexico's crude oil export ports had reopened by Thursday afternoon after a patch of bad weather cleared, the Transport Ministry said. One of Mexico's three main oil export ports in the Gulf of Mexico closed late...

Malaysian palm oil futures decline.
March 30, 2002... KUALA LUMPUR : Malaysia's palm oil futures gave up CBOT-inspired gains and fell back at the close on Friday due to uncertainties over exports to main buyers India, China and Pakistan in April, traders said. The benchmark third-month...

Malaysian tin extends gains, volume hits 16-year high.
March 30, 2002... KUALA LUMPUR : Malaysia's tin market extended gains on Friday due to heavy pre-Easter holiday short covering which pushed up volume to its highest level since 1985, traders said. Spot tin on the Kuala Lumpur Tin Market (KLTM) was $100...

South Korean firm buys 52,000 tonnes Chinese corn.
March 30, 2002... SEOUL : South Korea's Major Feed mill Group (MFG) has bought 52,000 tonnes of Chinese corn at $100.98 per tonne C&F from Korean trading house Daewoo Corp via a tender on Friday, traders said.-Reuters

Japanese February copper exports surge year on year.
March 30, 2002... TOKYO : Japan's refined copper exports, including billets, totalled 36,116 tonnes in February, more than double the 17,612 tonnes exported a year earlier, according to Ministry of Finance export figures released on Friday. Exports stood...

Japanese February rubber use for tyres up.
March 30, 2002... TOKYO : The amount of rubber used to make tyres in Japan rose 3.9 percent in February from a year earlier to 92,395 tonnes, the Japan Automobile Tyre Manufacturers' Association said on Friday. Tyres shipped domestically in February...

Japanese February gasoline margins narrow.
March 30, 2002... TOKYO : Regular gasoline margins in Japan narrowed by 1.8 yen per litre in February, according to a survey released on Friday by an energy think tank, suggesting retailers' profit margins were weaker in the month. The national wholesale...

Japanese end-February kerosene stocks up.
March 30, 2002... TOKYO : Kerosene inventories in Japan stood at 2.718 million kiloliters (kl) at the end of February, up 9.7 percent from a year earlier, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) said on Friday. The level was down 15.1 percent...

Interbrew eyes 25 percent stake in Chinese brewery.
March 30, 2002... BRUSSELS : Belgian brewer Interbrew said on Friday it could take up to a 25-percent stake in Chinese peer Zhu Jiang Brewery to benefit from a rapidly growing Chinese beer market. Interbrew spokesman Corneel Maes told Reuters the brewer...

Indonesian March Minas at $22.62 per barrel.
March 30, 2002... TOKYO : The official Indonesian crude price (ICP) for the country's main Minas crude has been calculated at $22.62 per barrel for March, up $3.78 from February, traders said on Friday.-Reuters

Antwerp diamond industry loosening inspection.
March 30, 2002... BRUSSELS : Belgium's $23 billion diamond industry will probably have to loosen its import control system to comply with international guidelines aimed at curbing the illicit trade in diamonds, the country's trade group said. "There will...

Japanese economic slump hits crude imports.
March 30, 2002... TOKYO : Data released on Friday showed Japan's crude imports fell while product sales slumped in February due to the prolonged economic slump and a mild winter. Japan's imports of crude oil in February fell 11.9 percent from a year...

USDA report on grain and oilseeds export tenders.
March 30, 2002... CHICAGO : Grain and oilseed export tenders, results and market information as reported by the US Department of Agriculture and private export sources. CORN SALE: South Korea's Major Federal Group (MFG) has bought 50,000 tonnes of Chinese...

Daqing March crude calculated at $22.46 per barrel.
March 30, 2002... TOKYO : The official selling price of China's Daqing crude for March has been calculated at $22.46 per barrel, up $3.72 from February, industry sources said on Friday. The price, which has yet to be confirmed by China, is provisional...

Canadian canola growers face rocky regulatory road.
March 30, 2002... WINNIPEG : Countries opting to grow transgenic crops for export will likely face more regulatory hurdles but those obstacles could be overcome if genetic modification produces a direct consumer benefit, a Canadian agricultural analyst...

Number of rigs up in US down in Canada: Baker Hughes.
March 30, 2002... NEW YORK : The number of rigs searching for oil and gas in the United States rose by 11 to 761 during the week ending March 28, according to oil services firm Baker Hughes. A year ago there were 1193. Baker Hughes released the weekly...

Gulf crudes mixed after tender result.
March 30, 2002... TOKYO : May Oman crude moved sideways on Friday with some upward potential seen possible, while Abu Dhabi crude grades showed signs of slipping after the results of closely watched purchase tenders became available. News of an Israeli...

Indian Oil buys end-April, May sour crudes via tender.
March 30, 2002... TOKYO : State-run Indian Oil Corp is believed to have bought Dubai, Masila and Basrah Light crude grades through its latest tender seeking crudes for lifting at end April and all of May, traders said on Friday. It was unclear whether IOC...

Cash bids for dark northern spring wheat down in US.
March 30, 2002... CHICAGO : Cash bids for dark northern spring (DNS) wheat fell 2 to 8 cents per bushel in the US northern production area on Thursday, pressured by lower wheat futures and light country movement, dealers said. Bullish US Department of...