Business Briefs.

(From South China Morning Post)

US ports dispute comes to a close

Negotiators for United States west coast dock workers reached a six-year contract agreement with shipping employers last week, ending months of acrimony that resulted in an expensive port shutdown in September and October. Talks had been going on for weeks in San Francisco between the International Longshore & Warehouse Union and the managers of the US western ports, the Pacific Maritime Association. Negotiations finalised contract details of a pension plan, which had been holding up the agreement.

Japanese finance minister urges tax cuts to spur economy

Japan's Minister for Financial Services Heizo Takenaka said the government should implement tax cuts worth as much as 2.5 trillion yen (about HK$159 billion) next financial year to help revive the ailing economy. The comment comes after Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi urged tax cuts big enough to stimulate spending and bolster an economy hurt by a slide in consumer prices and a slumping stock market. Mr Takenaka, who is leading efforts to force banks to write off more than US$430 billion in bad loans, urged cuts in corporate tax and taxes paid on stock transactions.

High-profile HK investor gets 20 months for fraud

Rogerio Lam Sou-fun, once one of Hong Kong's highest profile investors, was jailed last week for 20 months and barred from being a director of any company for five years after being convicted of a multi-billion dollar bank fraud. In handing down the sentence, District Court Judge Bernard Whaley refused to spare Lam, 66, from jail despite his ailing health. The son of the late Hang Seng Bank founder Lam Bing-yim, Lam was found guilty of two counts of using a copy of a false instrument, which he had denied.