Sharp to Name New President
Japanese electronics giant Sharp will name a new president at its June shareholders’ meeting, replacing its current chief after only a year in the job, the Nikkei business daily said Monday. The struggling firm, which last year warned about its own survival, would name company veteran Kozo Takahashi as its new chief, the paper said....
Toyota Unshackled as Abe Drives Japanese Yen Back to 100
Toyota Motor Corp’s half-decade of fighting the yen is over, at least for now. The weakening yen breached 100 against the dollar in US trading Thursday, paving the way for Japan to emerge from an unprecedented and largely uninterrupted five-year stretch where the currency’s appreciation beyond that level roiled exporters and their ability to sell...
India March Industrial Output Posts Surprise 2.5 Per cent Jump
India’s industrial output accelerated by a surprise 2.5 per cent in March from a year ago, official figures showed Friday, raising hopes that the country’s sharp economic slowdown may have bottomed out. The March output growth from India’s factories, mines and utilities beat financial market expectations of around a two percent rise and was up...
Sony Posts First Annual Net Profit in Five Years
Struggling Japanese electronics giant Sony on Thursday said it booked its first annual net profit in five years, offering a glimmer of hope for the former market leader. But Sony’s jump back into the black was largely due to fluctuations in the value of the yen and a string of asset sales — including unloading...
Kuroda Stimulus Backfires as Mortgage Costs Rise
Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda’s stimulus policies are backfiring in the housing market, where mortgage rates are rising even as the central bank floods the financial system with cash. While 35-year home-loan costs rose one basis point to 1.81 per cent this month from an all-time low of 1.8 per cent in April, any...
New Zealand Central Bank Warns on Housing Boom
A housing boom in New Zealand’s largest cities threatens to destabilise the country’s financial system, the central bank warned Wednesday. The Reserve Bank of New Zealand said low interest rates and improving sentiment in global financial markets had resulted in a rise in household credit over the past six months, fuelling the property market. It...
Foreigners Buy Most Indian Stocks Since February on Rates
Overseas funds bought the most Indian shares last week since February as the nation reduced interest rates for the third time this year and developed markets maintained or bolstered stimulus programs. Foreigners bought US$802 million more of local stocks than they sold in the week ended May 3, the most since the period ended Feb...
Australia Cuts Interest Rate to Record Low 2.75 Per cent
Australia’s central bank cut interest rates to a record low of 2.75 per cent Tuesday, citing weak domestic inflation coupled with a persistently high dollar as investment in the key mining sector hits its peak. The Reserve Bank of Australia’s shock decision to slash 25 basis points takes the official cash rate to never-before-seen lows,...
Indonesia GDP Growth at Slowest in Over Two Years on Exports
Indonesia’s economy grew at the slowest pace in more than two years last quarter as slower exports and government spending countered gains in consumption and investment. Gross domestic product increased 6.02 per cent in the first three months of 2013 from a year earlier, the Central Bureau of Statistics said in Jakarta today. That compares...
Hong Kong Striking Dockers Reject Offer as Contractors End Talks
Striking dock workers at billionaire Li Ka-shing’s Hongkong International Terminals Ltd. rejected a wage offer by contractors as the employers said they will no longer take part in talks to settle the 40-day labour dispute. The workers won’t accept a 9.8 per cent wage increase offered by four contractors at the port, Ho Wai-hong, representative...
Hong Kong IPO Market Heats up with US$3.5 Billion Sinopec Unit, Galaxy Securities Deal
A unit of Sinopec Group and brokerage China Galaxy Securities are launching Hong Kong IPOs on Monday seeking to raise up to US$3.5 billion in total, injecting life into Asia’s moribund IPO markets where deal values more than halved in the first quarter of the year. The massive initial public offerings (IPOs) have been eagerly...
Hyundai Wins Order for World’s Biggest Container Ship
South Korea’s Hyundai Heavy Industries said Monday it had won a US$700 million deal to build the world’s largest container ships for China Shipping Container Lines. Under the deal signed with China’s number two shipper, the world’s largest shipbuilder will build five vessels, each capable of carrying 18,400 TEU (20-foot equivalent unit) container boxes, Hyundai...
