Toyota halts US sales of eight models
(TOKYO) The faulty gas pedals that prompted Toyota to suspend US sales of eight of its most popular models – including the Camry, America’s best-selling car – are also in its vehicles sold in Europe, an official with the carmaker said yesterday.
Boeing posts higher-than-forecast quarterly net profit
(CHICAGO) Boeing Co yesterday reported a net profit that topped expectations on a 42 per cent revenue increase even as it grappled with a decline in orders, sending shares higher in premarket trading.
SAP sees top management changes in region
(SINGAPORE) SAP has kicked off 2010 with a sea change to its regional stewardship after its Asia-Pacific president Geraldine McBride decided to call it a day after spending nearly two decades with the firm.
Tech industry execs ‘spin’ for a good cause
EXPECT a whir of sweaty legs, flashes of disco lights and strains of heart-pumping music to whip up a noisy spectacle at Downtown East this weekend – all for a good cause.
Apple tablet alone can’t save print: analysts
(LOS ANGELES) Publishers have high hopes that Apple Inc’s highly anticipated tablet computer will attract new readers and boost revenue, but few expect that it will by itself reverse the fortunes of a beleaguered industry.
LG Electronics expects recovery in Q1
(SEOUL) South Korea’s LG Electronics Inc forecast sales and profits would improve in the first quarter as the global economic recovery prompts consumers to spend more on TVs, phones and other electronic appliances.
Sun’s McNealy has ‘few regrets’ as Oracle takeover draws close
(SAN FRANCISCO) Sun Microsystems Inc chairman Scott McNealy, in a final memo to employees on Tuesday as the company prepares to be acquired, said he has ‘few regrets’ about how the fourth-largest maker of computer servers conducted business.
Beijing trying to shut us out, say US businesses
(WASHINGTON) Business groups told US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and other top US officials on Tuesday they were ‘increasingly alarmed’ by China’s moves to keep out foreign high-tech companies and urged a firm response by the United States, an influential newsletter reported.
China warns US over arms sales to Taiwan
(BEIJING) Contacts with China’s military would likely be the first to suffer if Beijing moves to retaliate over upcoming US arms sales to Taiwan – the latest in a flurry of disputes elevating tension between Washington and Beijing.
Lending curbs not a bad thing: Mobius
(SYDNEY) China’s lending slowdown may benefit the domestic economy by reducing risk and investors should still buy shares of the nation’s banks, investor Mark Mobius said.
ICBC stops rolling over some loans, not halting new lending
(BEIJING) China’s largest bank, ICBC, said yesterday that it has stopped rolling over some loans to slow credit growth after a surge at the start of the year, offering the latest evidence of a government-directed clampdown on lending.
Google knock-off comes online
(BEIJING) A Google knock-off has surfaced in China to compete with the world’s largest search engine, while at the same time pleading with it to stay in the country despite censorship and hacking allegations.
CDLHT posts 88.9% average occupancy
CDL Hospitality Trusts (CDLHT), a favourite stockmarket proxy for the improving outlook for Singapore’s tourism sector, achieved an average occupancy rate of 88.9 per cent for its five Singapore hotels in the fourth quarter last year, a better showing than the fourth quarters of the preceding two years.
KepFels to build jackup for Saudi Aramco unit
KEPPEL Corp’s rig-building unit Keppel Fels (KepFels) has grabbed its first newbuild rig order for the year with a contract to build a jackup for Aramco Overseas Company BV, a unit of Saudi Arabia’s national oil company Saudi Aramco.
Widjaja kin to make offer for Top Global
A MEMBER of Indonesia’s Widjaja family has acquired a 59.83 per cent stake in Catalist-listed Top Global, triggering a mandatory unconditional cash offer that values the construction firm at some $28 million.
OSIM posts Q4 profit as sales rise 27%
WITH the Brookstone write-off a relic of 2008, OSIM International turned in a buoyant 27 per cent year-on-year growth in sales to $141 million and a net profit of $8.1 million for the fourth quarter of 2009, after posting a $73.2 million loss for the same period a year ago.
JCL’s free float falls below 10%
JURONG Cement Ltd (JCL) announced yesterday that the percentage of its shares in free float had fallen below 10 per cent.
Investors confident worst is over: ING
SINGAPORE investors are among the most confident in Asia that the worst of the fallout from the financial crisis is behind them, a new survey showed yesterday.
Palm oil price to rise as El Nino gets serious
ANALYSTS at the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) have raised their forecasts for crude palm oil (CPO) prices for the next three years by 16-20 per cent.
SMRT Q3 profit slips to $39.2m
THE impairment of goodwill, the fare reduction package and higher staff and repair and maintenance costs caused SMRT Corp’s net profit to slip 4.8 per cent to $39.2 million for the third quarter ended Dec 31, 2009.
Hiap Hoe, SuperBowl JV to open 2 hotels
PROPERTY developer Hiap Hoe and SuperBowl Holdings, which owns and manages leisure and recreational facilities, are investing $300 million to open two hotels in Balestier through their 50:50 joint venture company, HH Properties.
Thomson Medical raises patient satisfaction level
BY leveraging on technology and raising standards for both its product quality and service levels, Thomson Medical Centre has successfully improved patient care and satisfaction.
Sembcorp in Guanxi wastewater treatment plant joint venture
SEMBCORP Industries is expanding its utilities business to southern China, establishing a beachhead there through an 80:20 joint venture to build, own and operate a wastewater treatment plant in the Qinzhou Economic Development Zone (QEDZ) in Guanxi province.
Company Briefs
ST Engineering’s wholly owned subsidiary, ST Synthesis, has been awarded a $6.5 million three-year contract by the National Environment Agency (NEA).
At a glance
Political risk now a factor on Wall St
IT’S often difficult to separate politics from finance and economics but it’s been a long time since Wall Street had to contend with heightened political risk.
Budget report paints daunting challenge for US
(WASHINGTON) The US budget outlook is ‘daunting,’ with deficits stuck at levels not seen since World War Two, congressional forecasters said on Tuesday in a report that lays out the challenge facing President Barack Obama as he seeks to boost the economy while cutting spending.
Greece turns to China for bond sale
(SINGAPORE) Greece is wooing China to buy up to 25 billion euros (S$49.5 billion) of its bonds in its efforts to avert one of Europe’s biggest debt crises, the Financial Times (FT) and the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported yesterday.
Democrats lose sense of urgency on health care bill
(WASHINGTON) With no clear path forward on major health care legislation, Democratic leaders in Congress effectively slammed the brakes on President Barack Obama’s top domestic priority on Tuesday, saying they no longer felt pressure to move quickly on a health bill after eight months of setting deadlines and missing them.
Support mounts for Bernanke in imminent vote
(WASHINGTON) Federal Reserve chairman Ben S Bernanke juggled an interest-rate meeting with phone calls to senators as he rolled up more support for a confirmation vote Majority Leader Harry Reid said may occur today.
Venezuela sells dollars to defend national currency
(CARACAS) Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is selling US dollars from central bank reserves for the first time in six years in what Goldman Sachs Group and Barclays say is a futile bid to shore up the bolivar in unregulated trading.
Henderson eyes US rental homes, raising US$400m
(LONDON) Henderson Global Investors is raising US$400 million to invest in rental apartments in the United States, where it sees potential for double-digit returns on the back of falling home ownership and cheap finance.
Home sales plunge in Beijing: report
(BEIJING) Sales of new apartments and existing homes in Beijing fell some 70 per cent in the first three weeks of January from a month earlier, the local Beijing News reported yesterday.
Indian property IPOs expected to do poorly
(MUMBAI) Investors are more likely to choke on a glut of India property IPOs set to hit the market this year than gobble them up.
Some key facts
MORE than a dozen Indian real estate firms have lined up plans for initial public offers to raise about US$6 billion, buoyed by an 81 per cent rise in the Mumbai stock index last year and as property buyers return.
KL office rents expected to hold steady
KUALA LUMPUR remains one of the region’s most competitive office locations and with over nine million square feet of new supply over the next three years, average rental rates are expected to hold steady, said a leading property group.
BoA decides not to sell Merrill funds
(HONG KONG) Bank of America plans to raise new money for Merrill Lynch’s Asia property funds business instead of selling it due to a recovery in the real estate sector, sources said.
Lucky Plaza medical suites up for sale
THE second phase of Orchard Medical Specialists Centre will be offered for sale and rent from tomorrow by Hong Property Investments.
Indian money managers pulling out of bonds
(MUMBAI) India’s investment managers are selling bonds and putting their funds in money markets, anticipating losses in longer-term debt as inflation quickens and the budget deficit grows.
CSR rejects Bright bid for sugar business
(SYDNEY) Australian conglomerate CSR Ltd rejected a US$1.4 billion offer from China’s Bright Food Group for its 150 year-old sugar business, and said it would go ahead with a planned demerger of the business, to be called Sucrogen.
State Bank shares plunge on flat earnings
(MUMBAI) State Bank of India shares dropped in Mumbai trading after the nation’s largest lender posted its weakest pace of profit growth in three years following losses on surplus funds invested in government bonds.
Indonesia plans ‘green’ growth fund
(JAKARTA) Indonesia is hoping to raise hundreds of millions of dollars from foreign governments to fund ‘green infrastructure’ projects, a finance ministry official said yesterday.
Jakarta trade minister soothes fears of cheap Chinese imports
(TANGERANG, Indonesia) Indonesia’s trade minister toured a thriving footwear factory yesterday to counter fears of a flood of cheap Chinese imports resulting from a new regional free trade pact.
Potential rival bidder emerges for EON
A POKER game is developing between the major shareholders of EON Capital and tycoon Quek Leng Chan whose Hong Leong Bank (HLB) offered RM4.9 billion (S$2 billion) – or RM7.10 an EON Capital share – for the assets and liabilities of the smaller bank a week ago.
KL nabs 10 in anti-terror swoop
TEN people, all members of an unnamed ‘international terror organisation’ have been arrested under Malaysia’s tough Internal Security Act (ISA) which permits detention without trial.
Make S’pore a maritime knowledge hub: adviser
EVEN though the maritime cluster has overtaken all other sectors in terms of annual turnover, value-added and number of workers, it is still an obscure fact that needs to be highlighted.
Sabine Waterway may open today
(NEW YORK) The US Coast Guard said the Sabine Neches Waterway, the Texas ship channel serving four refineries that process about 6.5 per cent of US capacity, may open to limited vessel traffic today after a collision and oil spill shut the passage on Jan 23.
Asian shipping firms face challenging year
(SINGAPORE) Asian shipping firms face ‘significant’ challenges this year due to weakened earnings and limited access to capital, international ratings agency Fitch said yesterday.
Investors sell into strength
LOCAL stockbroker DMG & Partners, in its Monday technical outlook, recommended that investors sell into any signs of strength they might come across during the week and from the looks of things, it was advice that was well-heeded by the majority.
Going all out to help SMEs make that giant leap
AS Singapore places more emphasis on labour productivity, more attention should be made to nurturing entrepreneurship in the city state.
Hyflux’s success starts with passion
SEVEN ‘P’s. That is the winning formula behind Hyflux’s success.
Local workers less globally oriented: survey
LOCAL workers might need more help learning how to play well with different nationalities, according to the latest Kelly Global Workforce Index.
New police unit for casino crimes
THE Singapore Police Force (SPF) has created a new unit dedicated to investigating casino-related criminal offences.
Laminates firm gets eco-friendly certification from SEC
GREENLAM Asia Pacific (Greenlam AP), a manufacturer of high-pressure laminates for the interior design industry, announced yesterday that the company had been awarded the Singapore Environment Council’s (SEC) GreenLabel certification.
Forum suggests S’pore could export Asian talent
SINGAPORE often focuses on its need to import and attract talent from the world. But it could well position itself as an exporter of talent from Asia to the world too.
Crash of ’09 wiped out years of airline growth
(SINGAPORE) Last year was the worst year for the global aviation industry in almost 60 years, according to the International Air Transport Association (Iata).
Big 4 accountants root for tax cuts to cement growth story
(SINGAPORE) Balancing the needs of the population in these still-fragile economic times won’t be an easy task; this year’s Singapore Budget will have to find the right mix of keeping Singapore’s tax rates – and tax system – competitive and its coffers well supplied. All this, while trying to boost the local corporate scene and making Singapore more attractive to the rest of the world.
Quotas under study for PRs buying resale flats
(SINGAPORE) THE Housing & Development Board (HDB) is considering setting a cap on the proportion of permanent residents (PRs) allowed in every HDB neighbourhood and block.
Analysts keep eyes peeled on China property, bank sectors
(SINGAPORE) The consensus opinion seems to be that China’s business fundamentals will remain favourable.
New magazine to help SMEs
(SINGAPORE) A new magazine that focuses on the needs of Singapore’s small and medium-sized businesses is hitting the streets, and it is a must-read for business leaders seeking to operate more effectively in new markets.
Uncertainties back to haunt global investors
GLOBAL investors face a testing time in coming weeks after being excessively bullish at the beginning of the year.
China pips US as Japan’s top importer
CHINA overtook the United States as Japan’s leading export destination last year for the first time since records were kept in 1979, as Japanese shipments to the world’s largest economy crashed against a background of deep economic recession in the US, Japan’s Finance Ministry said yesterday.
Olam sole S’pore firm in leadership-talent list
(SINGAPORE) Olam International is the only Singapore company that made it to the 2009 Global Top Companies for Leaders – a ranking of companies with great leadership talent.
Asian stocks continue slide
(SINGAPORE) Asian stocks fell yesterday for the ninth straight day on fears that China’s heightened efforts to rein in soaring credit growth could hamper global economic recovery.
Three-Minute Digest
LAST year was the worst year for the global aviation industry in almost 60 years, according to the International Air Transport Association.
The uncertain future of JAL
THE ‘bankruptcy’ (or court-supervised rehabilitation) of Japan Airlines (JAL) provides yet another example of the uneasy coexistence between the state and private capitalism, not only in Japan but also in most mixed economies.
Confusing the process of change with progress
IT’S odd how often a circle seems to be mistaken for a straight line or, to put it another way, how a circular process of change is confused with progress.
New populists are shifting the centre of US politics
THE Republican win in the special Senate election in Massachusetts has been compared to a powerful earthquake that could transform US politics as we know it.
The rise of the ‘Beijing consensus’
AS RECENTLY as 2008, when China was still an emerging economy eager to put its best foot forward for Western consumers, it lifted censorship on several websites before the Beijing Olympics.
China’s Google loss may be India’s gain
ALL the buzz about losers if Google Inc leaves China ignores a potential winner: India.
Brokers’ Take
TOTAL rail ridership grew 4 per cent y-o-y last year, boosted by better 6 per cent y-o-y growth in Q4 2009.
US$ holds firm, yen gains on risk aversion
(LONDON) The US dollar held firm and the yen gained broadly yesterday as investors shied away from riskier assets on concerns about China tightening lending and US monetary and political wrangling.
S’pore to host 3G group during WEF
IN an attempt to promote ‘effective global governance’, Singapore Foreign Minister George Yeo will convene an informal meeting of ministers during the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos meeting on Thursday.
Sales of new homes fall unexpectedly in Dec
(WASHINGTON) Sales of newly built US single-family homes fell unexpectedly in December, data showed yesterday, the latest indication that the government- led housing recovery might be losing some steam.
Yahoo’s Q4 sales top estimates
(NEW YORK) Yahoo! Inc reported fourth-quarter sales that topped analysts’ estimates as the online advertising market showed signs of recovery.
US banks pay staff at shareholders’ expense
(NEW YORK) Amid all the commotion over the large bonuses that Wall Street bankers are collecting, what stands out is not only how much the stars are making.
BOE head supports splitting big banks
(LONDON) As outrage over lush banking profits gathers steam on both sides of the Atlantic, Mervyn King, the governor of the Bank of England (BOE), finds himself at the vanguard of a growing movement which argues that big banks must separate their higher-risk trading and investment banking businesses from their core deposit-taking functions.
Financiers cede spotlight to regulators at Davos
(DAVOS) For a sign of how the mood has changed at the World Economic Forum in Davos this week, consider the speakers at an invitation-only client lunch hosted by Paul Calello, who runs Credit Suisse Group AG’s investment bank.
Verizon to cut 13,000 jobs in fixed-line division
(NEW YORK) Verizon Communications, coping with subscriber losses at its fixed-line phone business, plans to cut about 13,000 jobs in the division this year after posting fourth- quarter revenue that missed analysts’ estimates.
Avatar tops Titanic as highest-grossing film
(LOS ANGELES) James Ca-meron’s science-fiction epic Avatar has passed his Titanic to become history’s highest-grossing film, with a sizable boost from higher-priced tickets for 3D and Imax showings.
Spyker faces tough road ahead with Saab
(AMSTERDAM) Dutch luxury sportscar maker Spyker may have been the unlikely winner of the Saab auction, but it is likely to struggle with the real challenge ahead: converting two loss-making companies into a profitable one.
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