Toyota Motor’s hybrid vehicles

Toyota Motor disclosed in Friday, their hybrid vehicle sales in Japan had grown one million marks and worldwide they had sold 2.68 million of the vehicles by the end of July. Toyota is the front line in hybrid cars, which use two power sources a gas engine and another source such as an electric motor. It launched in the Prius, the world’s first produced hybrid car, in 1997. The world’s biggest and greatest automaker later expanded use of its hybrid system to mini vans. Recently, nine Toyota produced hybrid passenger vehicle models and three hybrid commercial vehicle models are sold in Japan and a total of eight passenger hybrid models in overseas. The sales of hybrids have been brisk in recent years because of high gasoline prices and increasing public awareness of global warming.

Sri Lanka earns from tea record highest revenue

Sri Lanka expected to earn a record $1.4 billion from their tea exports this year. Tea is Sri Lanka’s biggest cash crop; they earned $635 million rupees in the first six months of 2010. Sold on overseas markets as ‘Ceylon tea,’ they earned $1.3 billion in export sales in 2009, despite drought hitting production and shipments suffering from the effects of the global crash in 2008. Tea shipments from January to June rose to 143.3 million from 134.5 million kilogram’s in the same period of 2009, they said.

RIM introduced a new BlackBerry

RIM unveiled a new BlackBerry aimed away from Apple’s iPhone and other rivals, but someone said that the handset won’t blow away the competition. Even the main features of BlackBerry Torch, including a touch screen and slide out keyboard, were well-known in the industry; investors registered their disappointment. Torch will go on sale in the USA on August for $199.99 with two year contract about the same price as an iPhone. New BlackBerry uses an excellent operating system and has a faster and easier to use net browsing. The analysts at Tuesday’s launch event in New York said the Torch does not represent a major advance but that its customers friendly features were enough to help RIM to catch up to any rivals. They expected new BlackBerry is the benefited the customers.

SEC of Bangladesh announced six companies to merchant banking

Securities and Exchange Commission of Bangladesh at a meeting gave approval to six companies to perform merchant banking activities. They are Jamuna Bank, Mutual Trust Bank, City Bank, Alfa Capital Management, Cosmopolitan Traders Private Ltd and Green Delta Insurance Company. With this announcement of the six merchant banks, the number of merchant banks has increased to 37 in Bangladesh. SEC also approved right issue offer of Bay Leasing & Investment Ltd. The company will issue 30, 60,000 ordinary shares of Tk 100 each at an issue price of Tk 350 per share (including a premium of Tk 250 each) totaling Tk 107.10 core.

Vietnam earn from garment and textile sector

Vietnam a development country earned $5.87 billion from garment and textile export in the first seven months of this year and up 17.4% year by year. In July this country earns $1.05 billion from selling garment and textile from world markets and month by month it climbs to 23.5%. Vietnam see a rapid growth in garment markets including the USA, the European Union, the Republic of Korea and countries and textile export to almost every market during this period. It is a bright hope for this country.

Thai motor sales rise

Thailand’s auto sales rise to 37% this year to 7, 50,000 vehicles and this helped by brisk economic growth, Japan’s Toyota Motor Corp disclose Tuesday. Toyota’s record Thai sales of 3,00,000 vehicles in 2010. Toyota hopes Thai export sales to grow 39% this year to 3,30,000 vehicles. Thai economy is forecast to post solid growth this year thanks to strong demand for its exports and the relatively limited impact of violent political unrest in this year.

MasterCard profit rise

MasterCard one of the world’s largest credit-card and debit-card processing network raises their second-quarter profit 31%. This New York based company reported net income of $458 million on Tuesday. That compared with $349 million in the year earlier period. This company attributed its results in part to an increase in spending on its cards, especially outside of the USA. The gross of dollar volume of the transactions MasterCard rose about 8.5% in world from the year, to $656 billion and growth in US gross of dollar volume was flat at $244 billion. MasterCard also claimed more consumers have resumed traveling and spending money in abroad. MasterCard cross border volumes increased in 15.2% from a year.

HSBC doubled their profit

HSBC double their net profits more than in $6.76 billion in the first half of 2010. The British group announced the results recently. They focus on building a high quality asset base for the future, which is encouraging that loan impairment charges now stand at their lowest levels since the start of the financial crisis of the World. This year they want to reach $7.5 billion approximately. It reflects the benefit of more stable economic conditions for many customers and follows their actions. HSBC also revealed that pre-tax profits more than doubled to $11.1 billion in the first half. They grew loans and advances to customers in all regions and by four per cent overall, compared with the end of 2009. Geographically, the strongest growth was in Asia, where they grew lending by 15 per cent. HSBC, born in Hong Kong and Shanghai in 1865 and best ever Asian banking giant. The bank said that across Asia, pre-tax profits increased by 20 per cent to $5.6 billion in the first half.

BMW sale slidly fall

The German group BMW said Friday that 2009 sales slipped by 4.7 per cent as the luxury car market was hit by the global recession, but added it expected to sell more than 1.3 million autos this year. Group sales fell to 50.68 billion euros ($70.64 billion), according to a statement that provided provisional results. Final results are to be published on March 17, and should show the group achieved a pretax profit last year, it said.

Mukesh Ambani, Mittal among world’s powerful bil lionaires

Mukesh Ambani and steel baron Lakshmi Mittal have been featured by the US magazine Forbes among the world's most powerful billionaires. The Forbes has named influential people across the world which have great wealth plus political power as well as industrial might. 'A few plutocrats have the mix of money, industrial might and political prowess to earn a spot among the world's most powerful billionaires,' the magazine stated. The list includes the likes of Michael Bloomberg who is the mayor of New York City and also owns 88 per cent of news and data giant Bloomberg LP. Forbes estimates his fortune at $17.5 million. Others on the list are billionaire Sebastian Pi era who won Chile's presidential election, media and banking titan and prime minister of Italy Silvio Berlusconi and Lebanonese premier and industrial heir Saad Hariri. About Mukesh Ambani, Forbes stated: 'Ambani controls oil and gas conglomerate Reliance Industries. With a market value of more than $73 billion, the firm is India's biggest independent company.' Besides, the world's largest steel maker Lakshmi Mittal has also been named in the list and has a market value of $65 billion.

Samsung Electronics back in profit

Samsung Electronics Co returned to profit in the fourth quarter as demand for flat screen televisions and mobile phones helped push sales to a record high, underlining Samsung's rise to the top tier of global technology companies. The company, a major producer of consumer electronics products and components that make them work, earned 3.05 trillion won ($2.64 billion) in the three months ended December 31 on a parent basis, it said in a statement Friday. Samsung does not release a consolidated net profit figure. Samsung said, however, that sales on a consolidated basis — which includes the performance of its overseas and domestic subsidiaries excluding financial businesses — reached a record 136.29 trillion won or nearly $118 billion at Friday's exchange rate.

Eurozone unemployment problem rise

One in 10 workers across Europe's core euro currency area is now unemployed, according to new European Union data issued on Friday that showed Spain bearing the brunt of a jobless recovery. The human cost of structural economic adjustment post-recession could be seen when the seasonally- adjusted unemployment rate for the 16 euro countries hit a miserable 10 per cent in December. The EU's Eurostat agency estimated that an extra 87,000 people fell out of work in the weeks before Christmas — down from the 102,000 people joining the benefit queues in November. It was the highest rate since the currency was launched a decade ago and up from a downwards-revised 9.9 per cent in November. Initial figures for November published earlier this month had pegged the eurozone rate at 10 per cent. Across the 27-nation EU, the rate hit 9.6 per cent in December, up from 9.5 per cent and corresponding to 163,000 more people unemployed. The statistics agency says more than 23 million people were out of work across the world's biggest open trading bloc, 15.763 million of whom were in the eurozone. That meant that in the last year, 4. 628 million people joined the ranks of the jobless, 2.787 million of whom were in the core euro area. Spain's rate hit a massive 19.5 per cent, although only very slightly up from the previous month. Separate data from Madrid showed that the unemployment rate in Europe' s fifth-largest economy soared to 18.83 per cent throughout the fourth quarter of 2009, with a total of 4.326 million people out of work, up more than one million from a year ago. Experts have repeatedly expressed fears of a 'double-dip' recession on the Iberian peninsula — itself struggling with huge deficits way above EU targets.

Microsoft in profit

Microsoft said Thursday that second- quarter net profit hit a record $6.66 billion on unprecedented revenue driven by demand for the new Windows 7 operating system. Microsoft reported that its revenue surged 14 per cent to $19.02 billion in the fiscal quarter that ended December 31. 'We saw record revenue and record profit, driven by strong demand for Windows 7 and PCs,' Microsoft chief financial officer Peter Klein said during a conference call with analysts.

Import increase in Bangladesh

The country's overall import increased by more than 20 per cent during the second quarter of the current financial year, according to the Bangladesh Bank data. Import orders for capital machinery rose by 24 per cent during the October- December period. The trends of increasing imports, especially capital machinery, indicate increase in industrial investment, said the central bank officials The increase in the overall imports has also been attributed to the growing demand of the essential items such as fertiliser and petroleum products. Letters of credit worth $411 million for importing machinery were opened during the said period of 2009-10 financial year as against $330 million during the corresponding period of the previous financial year. Most of the orders were placed from sectors such as textile, readymade garment, pharmaceuticals and packaging industry. Central bank governor Atiur Rahman said the rise in imports of capital machinery indicate that the overall industrial sector was gaining momentum and it showed increasing confidence among investors. 'We hope the upward trend of import order for capital machinery will continue as major economies are recovering from the global recession,' he added. The central bank statistics showed that the settlement of letters of credit for overall imports increased by more than 22 per cent to $2.11 billion in December alone from $1.717 billion in November. Meanwhile, the value of overall import orders showed an increase in January due to rising trend of prices of commodities including food and edible oil in the global market, according to the Bangladesh Bank. Imports of essentials such as wheat, sugar and onion also increased in terms of both quantity and value in December compared to the previous month. The import of wheat increased by 100,000 tonnes to 416,000 tonnes in terms of quantity, sugar by 85,000 tonnes to 225,000 tonnes and pulses by 11,000 tonnes to 64,000 tonnes during the period.

Onion and sugar price rise in Bangladeshi market

The prices of onion and sugar increased further in the city's markets over the week. Onion per kilogram was retailed for Tk 34-Tk 40 on Friday in the city, up by Tk 6 in just three or four days, as decrease of supply from India has caused a fresh hike in its prices. Each kilogram of sugar cost between Tk 58 and Tk 60, up by Tk 4 in a week, on Friday in various retail outlets in the city. The price of onion was declining in the previous few weeks when the early harvested local stocks of onion hit the market, but essential spice became dearer due to the shortage in India. During the off-harvest months at least two-third of Bangladesh's demand for onion is met by India, but the dependence remains significant even after the harvest of local onion. Traders at Shyambazar told New Age that unusual rains a couple of months back damaged the crop in the major onion producing regions, and the dip in export by neighbouring countries is affecting Bangladeshi markets unfavourably. Bangladesh, which imports around half a million tonnes of onion annually, is the largest market for Indian onion exporters. Market sources said that the fresh uptrend in sugar prices in the international market has made Bangladesh's import-dependent sugar market volatile, and the crisis in India has played a major role. Sugar price has shot up by Tk 8 per kilogram in a month and doubled in a year. The Trading Corporation of Bangladesh's daily market report shows that the retail price of sugar was Tk 31- 34 per kilogram on 28 January, 2009. The previous period of volatility in the international market pushed up the sugar price to a record Tk 66 per kilogram in mid-September last year. Alleged hoarding and supply manipulation by a section of refiners and wholesalers had caused the September crisis, and the retail price came down to Tk 48-50 by the middle of December last year.

SA investigates World Cup airline price-fixing

Six South African airlines are being investigated for allegedly colluding to hike fares for local flights during the football World Cup in June. The country's presidency said it had received public complaints that fares had become "drastically high". South African Airways has agreed to provide the Competition Commission with evidence against the other airlines. Fifa recently said fewer foreign fans than expected would go to the World Cup - partly due to a lack of flights. Many fans are likely to fly between different World Cup venues which are spread around South Africa. The airlines being investigated are: Comair, South African Airways (SAA), 1 time, Airlink, SA Express and Mango. Except for SAA, the other airlines have denied the allegations but said they would co- operate with the commission. Extra flights The 2010 co-ordinating unit in the president's office asked the Competition Commission to investigate the complaints. "We hope the commission will resolve this matter timeously to ensure that this does not prove detrimental to the tournament and to tourist attraction," said Zukile Nomvete, head of the unit, report South Africa's Times newspaper. SAA has already provided e-mail correspondence between the airlines, which allegedly backs up the charges of price-fixing. On Wednesday, world football authority Fifa said it was now expecting around 450 foreign fans to travel to South Africa - down from initial estimates of one million. It said they were partly put off by the cost of flying to South Africa - a separate issue to the one now being investigated. Fifa secretary-general Jerome Valcke said the organisation would now work with local football associations to create extra flights and packages for fans to attend the World Cup. In 2006 , SAA was fined 55 m rand ($7 m; £4.5 mat current prices) after being found guilty of price-fixing with German carrier Lufthansa. The airline was also fined on two-charges of anti-competitive behaviour.

US economy in fastest growth

The US economy grew by an annualised rate of 5.7 % between October and December, official figures have shown. The number, which is a first estimate, is a big rise from the previous quarter's growth rate of 2. %. It suggests the country's economy is growing at its fastest pace for six years and confirms the US economy has left its year-long recession behind. But even with the rebound, gross domestic product (GDP) shrank by 2.4 % across 2009 a whole. That was the worst annual performance since 1946. 'Encouraging news' White House economist Christina Romer said the strong growth in the fourth quarter of 2009 was "the most positive news to date on the economy". "It is important not to read too much into a single report, positive or negative," she added. "There will surely be bumps in the road ahead. Nonetheless, today's report is a welcome piece of encouraging news." US GDP is expressed as an annualised rate, or annual pace, which shows what the three months' economic activity would mean if it carried on for a year. The Bureau of Economic Analysis, which releases the data, emphasised that the fourth-quarter advance estimate was based on incomplete information and was subject to further revision. Growth in the third quarter was originally estimated at an annualised rate of 3.5 was revised down to 2.2 % after more information was received. Most of the growth came from increased manufacturing to rebuild inventories. Consumer spending - the biggest component of the US economy - was down on the previous quarter. Great number? That point was singled out by Manoj Ladwa, a senior trader at ETX Capital: "The 'engine of the economy' that is consumer spending contributed little to the overall improvement in the numbers, indicating the recovery may still falter." Others saw the news as more positive. Jack Ablin, the chief investment officer at Harris Private Bank in Chicago said: "Wow, great number.

Honda recalls car

Honda has announced the recall of 646 ,000 cars globally to fix a switch defect that could cause a fire. The recall includes Jazz models, also known as Fit in some countries, built in Japan, China, Brazil, Thailand, Malaysia and India, Honda said. Three cases of fires due to the defect have so far been reported - two in the US and one in South Africa. In September, two-year-old Vanilla Nurse was killed in Cape Town when the car she was sleeping in caught fire. The total number of recalls includes 619 Jazz, or Fit, models globally and 27 ,000 models in Asia. In the US, 140 ,000 vehicles are being recalled. Just over 171 ,000 Jazz cars in Britain will be recalled in March. In a statement, Honda said a defective master switch could cause water to enter the power window switch and could, in some cases, cause a fire. On Thursday, carmaker Toyota announced the recall of vehicles in the US, Europe and China over concerns about accelerator pedals getting stuck on floor mats.

Airbus price rise

Planemaker Airbus has raised the price of its aircraft by an average of 5.8 % to counteract the effects of a weak dollar and rising material costs. In a statement, the company said the increase, which applied from the beginning of January, includes all new aircraft. It is the first price increase by the company in two years. "We have tried to keep prices down for as long as we can," said John Leahy, chief operating officer at Airbus. "However, even with record aircraft deliveries and impressive orders in recent years, the continuing strength of the euro against the US dollar and the ongoing financial challenges ahead have forced us to take action," he said. Earlier this month, Airbus said it delivered 498 aircraft to customers in 2009 - 15 than in 2008. This meant it beat rival Boeing in terms of deliveries for the seventh year running, according to Airbus. At the end of 2009 , Airbus had a total order backlog of almost 3 ,500 aircraft and an order book worth $437 bn.

Boeing back in profit

US aerospace giant Boeing reported Wednesday a swing into profit in the fourth quarter on soaring sales but said it faces 'significant' challenges that could impact results in 2010. Boeing posted fourth-quarter earnings of $1.268 billion, lifted by a surge in revenues. The aerospace giant's earnings amounted to $1.75 per share, well ahead of analyst expectations of $1.36 a share. The results compared with a loss of $86 million in the same period a year earlier, when earnings were hit by a machinists strike and charges to modify its 747 aircraft. Revenues for the October-December period rose 42 per cent to $17.93 billion, slightly better than expectations. 'We put a strong finish on 2009 by getting the 787 in the air and generating solid core operating performance across the company,' said Jim McNerney, Boeing chairman, president and chief executive, referring to the new Dreamliner aircraft whose first test flight took place last month. 'Focus areas for 2010 are to continue our strong operational performance, certify and deliver the 787 and 747-8, and further reposition our defence, space and security business. 'While the challenges ahead are significant, I believe we have the people and the resources we need to be successful and to begin consistently delivering on this company's great potential.' For all of 2009, Boeing said it had net profit of $1.312 billion, less than half it made in the prior year. Full-year revenue rose to 'a record' $68.281 billion, the Chicago-based firm said, a 12 per cent rise from 2008 driven by an increase in commercial aircraft sales and growth in the defence unit. Earnings per share were $1.84, also beating analysts' expectations of 1.44 dollars and the company's own guidance of $1.35 to $1.55. The commercial aircraft division had a net loss of 600 million dollars for the year due developments with the much- delayed new 787 Dreamliner program and the wide-body 747, the firm said.

ACCA board launches a office in Dhaka

The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, a global accountancy body, launched its Bangladesh office on Wednesday night. Commerce minister Faruk Khan attended the inaugural session of the office as chief guest at Westin Hotel in Dhaka. Chaired by ACCA country manager for Bangladesh Mohua Rashid, the function was attended among others, by British high commissioner in Dhaka Stephen Evans, former advisor of caretaker government Akbar Ali Khan, ACCA executive director (markets) Laurie Gillow and director of British Council Charles Nuttal. Mohua Rashid said, 'As the leading professional body for accountants, ACCA and commerce go hand in hand. We are committed to developing the profession in Bangladesh to bring benefits to the economy'. She also said that that there are about 5000 students in Bangladesh studying with ACCA. They are taking examinations under the supervision of British Council and achieving brilliant results to groom themselves for the competitive business environment in the country and across the globe. 'This is the reason for ACCA to establish a local office to benefit its students and members in Bangladesh' she added. Mohua Rasid informed that the ACCA is supporting some 131,500 members and 362,000 students throughout their careers, providing service of 42 offices and active centres across the world and this office will bring better opportunities for Bangladeshi students to get the degree.

Nokia post profit

The world's top mobile phone maker, Nokia Corp, on Thursday said strong sales of smart phones and lower costs helped profits rise 65 percent in the fourth quarter despite a drop in total revenue. Net profit was 948 million euros ($1.33 billion), up from euro576 million in the last quarter of 2008. But net sales in the last three months of 2009 dropped 5.3 percent to 12.0 billion euros from 12.7 billion euros in the same period a year earlier. The Finnish company said it boosted its share of the mobile phone market to 39 percent, from 38 percent in the previous quarter and 37 percent in the fourth quarter of 2008. Nokia CEO Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo said that included gains in the market for smart phones, driven by the launch of new models.

Toyota will recall another 1.1m car

Toyota has announced the recall of an additional 1.1 million cars in the US over concerns about accelerator pedals getting stuck on floor mats. The firm also said the recall would be extended to Europe, but exactly where and which models had yet to be decided. The new recall comes just a day after the carmaker said it was suspending sales of eight popular US models. Toyota also announced that 750 jobs would be going at its Burnaston plant in the UK before the end of August. "[Last year] was a tough year for Toyota Manufacturing UK," the carmaker said. "This decision is related to production capacity and efficiency, not to production volumes." Toyota said no decision had been taken about how the jobs would go, but added that it was not currently considering compulsory redundancies. The plant employs about 3 ,800 people. Investor concerns The specifics of the recall in Europe have yet to be decided. Colin Hensley, general manager of Toyota's European operations, said the carmaker was trying to establish how many European models shared the parts used in the cars recalled in the US. Last week, the world's largest carmaker recalled 2.3 million cars in the US with faulty pedals. It has now recalled almost 8 million cars in the US in the past four months. Last October, it recalled 4.2 million cars because of worries over pedals getting lodged under floor mats. "Toyota's remedy plan is to modify or replace the accelerator pedals on the subject vehicles to address the risk of floor mat entrapment," the company said. The latest recall affects five models in the US: the 2008-2010 Highlander and the 2009- 2010 Corolla, Venza, Matrix and Pontiac Vibe. Toyota shares fell a further 3.9 % in Japan, after dropping 4.3 % on Wednesday, as concerns about the impact of the recalls on the carmaker's financial health and reputation gripped investors. "It is still uncertain how this recall problem will affect Toyota's profits.

USA creat more job

US President Barack Obama has said in his first State of the Union address that creating jobs must be the nation's number one focus. Mr Obama accepted Americans were "hurting" and that his election pledge of change had not come quickly enough. He defended his healthcare reform efforts and bank bailout policy, but said there would be a spending freeze from 2011 to tackle the budget deficit. Bob McDonnell, for the Republicans, criticised the expansion of government. The Virginia governor said the federal government was "simply trying to do too much". 'Devastation remains' Mr Obama was given the traditional warm welcome by all sides of Congress and received several standing ovations. He opened his address by saying the US had to "answer history's call". MARDELL'S AMERICA " There were solid economic measures in this speech, and how they work out will determine the president's popularity more than his words " On the issue of employment, Mr Obama said: " People are out of work. They are hurting. They need our help. And I want a jobs bill on my desk without delay. "Jobs must be our number one focus in 2010. " On the economy, Mr Obama said he had taken office a year ago "amid two wars, an economy rocked by severe recession, a financial system on the verge of collapse, and a government deeply in debt". "The devastation remains," he said. "One in 10 Americans still cannot find work. Many businesses have shuttered. Home values have declined. Small towns and rural communities have been hit especially hard. For those who had already known poverty, life has become that much harder. "I know the anxieties that are out there right now. They're not new. These struggles are the reason I ran for president." He said he would insist on the new jobs bill. " The House has passed a jobs bill... as the first order of business this year, I urge the Senate to do the same." Mr Obama defended the controversial bank bailouts, saying they were necessary to save the economy. "When I ran for president, I promised I wouldn' t just do what was popular - I would do what was necessary," he said. "If we had allowed the meltdown of the financial system, unemployment might be double what it is today. More businesses would certainly have closed. More homes would have surely been lost." But he said the budget deficit had to be tackled. "Starting in 2011 , we are prepared to freeze government spending for three years," he said. President Obama also tackled lobbying. He had openly criticised last week's ruling by the Supreme Court rejecting long-standing limits on how much companies can spend on political campaigns. "I don't think American elections should be bankrolled by America's most powerful interests, and worse, by foreign entities," he said. His words brought a reaction from Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito, who shook his head and appeared to mouth the words, "No, it's not true". The president also talked about global warming, urging the Senate to "advance" work on climate change, while acknowledging deep disagreement on a bill to cap carbon emissions. On healthcare, Mr Obama said he took his share of the blame for not explaining the situation better. But he said many Americans were losing their insurance, adding: "I will not walk away from these Americans, and neither should the people in this chamber." Military gay law On security, Mr Obama said the war in Iraq was ending and "all of our troops are coming home". He said increased US efforts in Afghanistan would help the Afghans start taking the lead in 2011. International allies had also stepped up their commitment, he said, and would use Thursday's Afghan conference in London to " reaffirm our common purpose". "There will be difficult days ahead. But I am confident we will succeed," he said. Mr Obama also referred to a replacement for the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (Start), saying the US and Russia were completing negotiations on the "farthest-reaching arms control treaty in nearly two decades". He also announced he would tackle the controversial law that bars openly gay people from serving in the military. HAVE YOUR SAY Obama's problem is not with his speech-making. The problem is that his policies have been, to date, a complete failure. Gary, Japan He said: "This year, I will work with Congress and our military to finally repeal the law that denies gay Americans the right to serve the country they love because of who they are." He ended the speech with the words: "We don' t quit. I don't quit. Let's seize this moment - to start anew, to carry the dream forward and to strengthen our union once more." The BBC's Richard Lister, in Washington, says it was a sober speech for serious times, primarily devoted to domestic issues. He says the president talked optimistically about the capacity of the American people to endure hardships, and come through stronger, but at times he also sounded defensive, saying he never suggested he could bring the change he promised all by himself. Republican Bob McDonnell said that despite rising unemployment, the Democratic Congress continued "deficit spending, adding to the bureaucracy, and increasing the national debt". "The amount of this debt is on pace to double in five years, and triple in 10 ," he said. "This is simply unsustainable. The president's partial freeze on discretionary spending is a laudable step, but a small one. "The circumstances of our time demand that we reconsider and restore the proper, limited role of government at every level." Republican Senator and former presidential candidate John McCain said he was surprised Mr Obama still wanted to push ahead with a comprehensive healthcare overhaul. "What I thought he would have said was 'Look I hear the message from the Massachusetts election, now let's start over'. Frankly, that would've put the burden on us," he said. Mr Obama's address follows the Democratic Party's loss of a key Senate seat in Massachusetts last week which has deprived them of their filibuster-proof 60- seat majority in the Senate. The loss puts in danger the president's sweeping legislative agenda he set out after taking office a year ago.

Hyundai in profit

Hyundai has reported a fourfold increase in profits between October and December as government incentives helped to boost car sales. Net profit for the period was 945. 5 bn won ($820 m; £505 m), compared with 243.5 bn won a year earlier. This was considerably higher than analysts had expected. Hyundai's fortunes are in stark contrast with many carmakers across the world that have struggled to cope with falling sales during the downturn. It has benefited from the South Korean government's decision last year to introduce a 70 % cut in taxes for consumers buying new cars. This has boosted sales domestically, but the carmaker has also seen sales in China and India grow strongly.

Airlines suffered record drop traffic in 2009

International airlines suffered their biggest decline in traffic since 1945 last year as passenger demand fell 3.5 per cent, the International Air Transport Association said Wednesday. Freight also fell, by 10.1 per cent, as ' full-year 2009 demand statistics for international scheduled air traffic ... showed the industry ending 2009 with the largest ever post-war decline,' IATA said in a statement. 'In terms of demand, 2009 goes into the history books as the worst year the industry has ever seen,' said Giovanni Bisignani, director general of the world's biggest airlines' association. 'We have permanently lost 2.5 years of growth in passenger markets and 3.5 years of growth in the freight business,' he added. Passenger traffic had improved in the final months of 2009, after a slump triggered by the financial and economic crisis. In December, passenger traffic increased by 4.5 per cent in December compared to the same month the previous year, and by 1.6 per cent over November, latest IATA data showed. While airlines had continued to cut capacity and flights, yields were still five to 10 per cent below 2008 levels by the end of last year. IATA predicted a slow recovery for cash-strapped carriers. 'Revenue improvements will be at a much slower pace than the demand growth that we are starting to see,' said Bisignani. 'Profitability will be even slower to recover and airlines will lose an expected $5.6 billion in 2010,' she added. The industry association warned last month that airlines faced another turbulent year after they racked up an estimated $11 billion in losses in 2009 despite a recovery in passenger traffic. 'We are ending an Annus Horribilis that rings to a close the 10 challenging years of an aviation Decennus Horribilis,' Bisignani told journalists last month. IATA represents some 230 carriers that account for more than 90 per cent of scheduled air traffic, but does not include most of the budget airlines.

BEPZA urges Toyota to invest in EPZs

Bangladesh Export Processing Zone Authority has urged Japan's Toyota Tsusho Corporation to invest in the export processing zones in the country. A three-member investment delegation from the TTC, headed by general manager Yasuhiro Miura visited Bangladesh Export Processing Zones Authority office in the city on Wednesday, said a news release. BEPZA executive chairman Jamil Ahmed Khan briefed the delegation members on the activities of BEPZA and present status of EPZs of Bangladesh. He also highlighted the fiscal and non fiscal incentives provided by BEPZA and requested the delegation member to explore the investment opportunity in the EPZs. The delegation members expressed their keen interest to invest in the EPZs, said the news release. AZM. Azizur Rahman, general manager (investment promotion) of BEPZA, was also present at the meeting.

Airlines suffered record drop in traffic

World airlines suffered their biggest traffic decline since 1945 last year, making 2009 the "worst year the industry has ever seen," and can expect only a slow recovery in 2010 , the International Air Transport Association said Wednesday. Passenger demand fell 3.5 percent while in the freight sector demand was down 10.1 percent. "Full-year 2009 demand statistics for international scheduled air traffic ... showed the industry ending 2009 with the largest ever post-war decline," IATA said in a statement. "In terms of demand, 2009 goes into the history books as the worst year the industry has ever seen," said Giovanni Bisignani, director general of an association that groups the world's biggest airlines' association. "We have permanently lost 2.5 years of growth in passenger markets and 3.5 years of growth in the freight business," he added. Bisignani warned that while the worst appeared to be over with the recovery in the global economic climate, airlines would have to keep their costs reined in during a "Spartan year" in 2010. Passenger traffic improved in the final months of 2009 , after a slump triggered by the financial and economic crisis. In December, passenger traffic increased by 4.5 percent in December compared to the same month the previous year, and by 1.6 percent over November, latest IATA data showed. While airlines had continued to cut capacity and flights, yields were still five to 10 percent below 2008 levels by the end of last year. IATA nevertheless predicted a slow recovery for cash-strapped carriers. " Revenue improvements will be at a much slower pace than the demand growth that we are starting to see," said Bisignani.

Bangladesh Biman gets new look today

A new-look Biman will show off today as the national flag carrier rebrands to emerge as a commercially viable airline by winning the hearts of domestic and international travellers, officials said yesterday. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is expected to unveil the new logo and livery of Biman, which offers promises to improve both the onboard and ground services. The premier is likely to see for herself the two leased aircraft -- Boeing 777-200 ER and Boeing 737-800 -- with the new livery and logo at Zia International Airport, said Muhammad Zakiul Islam, managing director and chief executive of Biman Bangladesh Airlines. The Biman MD said the new livery and modified logo of Balaka will be seen in the aircraft to be inducted in the coming days through lease and purchase. Three leased planes, which are likely to join Biman fleet this year, will get the new look. But DC-10 , Airbus and F-28 planes will bear the legacy of previous look of the 38- year old carrier. Under the rebranding move, Biman comes with the promises of offering what it calls ' hospitability', 'safety', 'reliability' and 'world class' services.

Asian shipping firms faces challenges

Asian shipping firms face "significant" challenges this year due to weakened earnings and limited access to capital, international ratings agency Fitch said Wednesday. "Weakened earnings, high committed capex ( capital expenditures) and restricted access to capital remain challenges for a number of rated shipping companies," it said in a statement. The majority of the seven Asian shipping companies under Fitch's ratings coverage "will continue to face significant operating and credit challenges in 2010 ," the agency said. Three companies are either on "negative outlook" or "negative rating watch", among them Indonesia's PT Arpeni Pratama Ocean Line and PT Berlian Laju Tanker, and Varun Shipping Company of India. "The oversupply of shipping capacity will continue to exert pressure on shipping rates and utilisation levels in 2010 ," Fitch said. Due to the long time needed to build new ships, the shipping industry is inflexible in terms of its ability to respond to the changing global supply and demand picture, analysts say. "The weak fundamentals in the global shipping markets have even affected domestic revenues of Indonesian and Indian shipping companies that benefit from cabotage laws", Fitch added. Cabotage restricts a nation's coastal trade only to ships belonging to that country.

Japan's exports grow

Japan's exports grew for the first time in 15 months in December, boosted by demand in Asia and China in particular, official figures have shown. Exports hit 5.4 tn yen ($60 bn; £37 bn), up 12.1 % on a year ago. Shipments to Asia rose by almost a third. The Japanese finance ministry said China had now overtaken the US as Japan's largest overseas market. China is also on the verge of overtaking Japan as the world's second largest economy. Japanese imports fell by 5.5 % to 4.9 leading to a trade surplus for December of 545.3 tn yen. Asian focus Analysts said Japan would continue to rely on Asia to drive its growth in exports. "Most countries around the world are seeing their economies recover but improvements in advanced economies remain fragile," said Takeshi Minami at the Norinchukin Research Institute. "We can't rely too much on strong growth in those countries, so Japanese exports will continue to focus on shipments to Asia." On Tuesday, Japan's central bank kept its key interest on hold at 0.1 % and said the country' s economy would continue to suffer from deflation, or falling prices, for another three years. Japan's economy, which is driven by exports, came out of recession in the April-June quarter last year, but there have been concerns about the strength of its recovery.

Saab will sell to a dutch company

Sweden's Saab is being sold to Dutch luxury carmaker Spyker, General Motors (GM) has confirmed. GM has been trying to sell Saab since January 2009. Earlier this month, it said it would start to shut down the firm while still looking for a buyer. But GM said wind-down activities would be immediately suspended, " pending the close of the transaction". Spyker sold 43 cars in 2008 , when it posted a loss of $35 m (£21 m). It has yet to make a profit in six years. Spyker has agreed to pay $74 m in cash for Saab, John Smith, GM vice-president for corporate planning and alliances, told reporters. Under the deal, GM would also get $326 worth of preferred shares in Saab. The Swedish government has also agreed to guarantee a 400 million- euro (£349 m; $563 m) loan Saab had requested from the European Investment Bank, which was seen as key to the sale. "Now the deal between Spyker and GM has been finalised, so the government has today taken the decision to give loan guarantees to Saab Automobile," Enterprise Minister Maud Olofsson said. 'Great news' Saab lost 3 bn kronor (£255 m; $412 in 2008 , and has not made a profit since 2001. US group GM rejected an earlier offer from Spyker for Saab in December. Shares in Spyker were earlier suspended on the Amsterdam stock exchange, with the Dutch financial market regulator saying the move was "pending [a] press release" from the company. Its shares were 2.8 % higher before the suspension, after having risen more than 60 on Monday. "Today's announcement is great news for Saab employees, dealers and suppliers, great news for millions of Saab customers and fans worldwide, and great news for GM," said GM's John Smith. "General Motors, Spyker Cars, and the Swedish government worked very hard and creatively for a deal that would secure a sustainable future for this unique and iconic brand, and we're all happy for the positive outcome," he said.

Yahoo sales fall

Internet giant Yahoo has posted a $153 m (£95 m) net profit in the fourth quarter of 2009 , but has seen sales continue to fall. The profit figure compares with a $303 m loss in the same period in 2008 , but revenue fell 4 % to $1.7 bn. Yahoo struggled during the global downturn as advertisers trimmed their budgets. The firm cut more than 2 ,000 jobs to try to reduce costs. Shares in Yahoo rose 1 % in after-hours trading in New York to $16.17 ?. "The fourth quarter marked a strong finish to 2009 , which was a transformative year for Yahoo," said chief executive Carol Bartz. "Our business has positive momentum and we feel good as we head into 2010. " For the whole of 2009 , Yahoo made a £598m profit, up 43 % on the previous year.

Toyota suspend 8 model sales

Toyota has said it will suspend sales of eight of its most popular US models after recalling 2.3 million cars last week over faulty accelerator pedals. The carmaker also said it would temporarily halt production of some models at some US plants at the beginning of February. "This action is necessary until a remedy is finalised," it explained. Last October, Toyota recalled 4.2 million cars in the US because of pedals getting lodged under floor mats. The sales suspension includes the 2007-2010 Camry and Tundra; the 2009-2010 RAV4 Corolla and Matrix; the 2005-2010 Avalon; the 2010 Highlander; and the 2008-2010 Shares in the carmaker fell 2 % on Japan's Nikkei index after the announcement. Suspending sales of eight popular models is a big risk for the world's biggest carmaker, analysts said. "The recall itself won't be a big problem for Toyota's earnings, but suspending production and sales could have a big impact, depending on how long it lasts," said Koji Endo, auto analyst at Advanced Research Japan. Jessica Caldwell at Edmunds.com said: "In this highly competitive market, no automaker, not even Toyota, can afford to stop selling its cars and trucks for long, but perhaps Toyota is banking on the idea that customers will appreciate the priority of their safety in this decision."

Apple will brought a new product in market

All eyes in the technology world are on Apple as it prepares to unveil its latest creation, amid a swirl of speculation it is a tablet computer. At 1800 GMT on Wednesday the company will hold a news conference in San Francisco to launch the new product. Media and tech blogs have been in overdrive, amid rumours the product will be a keyboard- less tablet device. For weeks, a flurry of photos and videos purporting to show the new device have been circulating. "One never knows what Apple might or might not do on any given Wednesday in January," said Mike Gartenberg, vice-president of strategy and analysis at research firm Interpret. Market winner? "One thing we do know for sure is we are going to see some sort of new device or category of device." The safe money is on the product being a tablet or slate-like computer which traditionally bridges the gap between smartphones and laptops. "The question here is does Apple have a different take on this category? It has to be something that has a reason to exist all by itself and not something that lives between a phone and a computer," Mr Gartenberg told BBC News. Until now the tablet market has been regarded as a middling one with revenue of around $950 m (£597 m). But many industry watchers believe Apple will do for this sector what the iPod did for MP3 players. Apple said it sold 21 m iPods last quarter and, while that represented a drop of 8 % on the previous year, the company boasts a 70 % market share. "Our base case assumes the new tablet adds four million shipments, $3.2 bn (£2.1 bn) revenue and 82 cents of earnings per share in 2010 , but we see potential upside to six million units," said Morgan Stanley analyst Katy Huberty. Interpret's Mr Gartenberg agreed. "Apple is not building products for tens of thousands of enthusiasts. They are building products for tens of millions of customers," he said.

Apple’s profit record rise

Apple's holiday quarter was especially sweet this year, but Wall Street's response was muted as investors puzzled through an accounting change and lighter-than-expected iPhone sales. Apple Inc. posted its most profitable quarter yet in the October-through- December period after selling twice as many iPhones and 33 per cent more Macintosh computers as the year before. But the company also changed how it accounts for revenue and profit from the iPhone, making it difficult for investors to see at a glance whether Apple lived up to Wall Street's forecast. Shares of Apple crept up less than 1 per cent in extended trading after ending the regular session Monday ahead $5.32, or 2.7 per cent, at $203.07. Apple's shining report reflected the company's ability to lure shoppers without deep cuts to its premium prices, despite tough economic times. The iPhone's rollout in several major new markets, including China and South Korea, helped Apple double sales of the hot gadget to 8.7 million. Still, Shaw Wu, an analyst for Kaufman Bros., was expecting Apple to sell about 800,000 more of the popular smart phone. He attributed the lower number to possible component shortages.

AirAsia will fly five Indian city

Budget carrier AirAsia said on Tuesday it will launch flights from Malaysia to five major Indian cities in 2010 , with plans to carry two million passengers a year. The new cities are Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, New Delhi and Mumbai. AirAsia already flies from its Kuala Lumpur base to the Indian destinations of Kochi, Kolkata, Trichy and Trivandrum. AirAsia founder Tony Fernandes said the carrier and its Kuala Lumpur hub was being positioned as a gateway between India and the 10- nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations. " AirAsia has well-arrived in the Indian market to change the very definition of low-cost airlines as the India market is booming," he said at a launch function. Transport Minister Ong Tee Keat said the route expansion would help fuel tourism to Malaysia, a Muslim- majority country that is also home to ethnic Indian and Chinese communities. "With the large number of Malaysians of Indian origin, we believe that Indian visitors will find themselves on familiar ground," he said. Fernandes appealed for flexibility from Malaysian authorities, who have tightened visa regulations in an attempt to curb illegal migration, particularly from the southern city of Chennai.

South Africa's tourism

South Africa's top holiday destination Cape Town weathered a post-recession summer with fewer tourists, but is gearing up to bounce back in 2010 at Africa's first football World Cup. The global economic crisis saw international arrivals to the city drop by up to 12 percent last year, while domestic arrivals fell up to eight percent as South Africa braced its first post-apartheid recession. But industry experts say the country fared better than most, with the World Tourism Organisation (WTO) listing Africa as the only continent to buck negative trends in 2009 with a robust five percent growth. "The world recession really hit us very late," said Calvyn Gilfellan, chief executive of the regional tourism body Cape Town Routes Unlimited. "We are fortunate that our industry hasn't been as negatively affected, but there's nothing to be complacent about. We still need to work hard to ensure that we are on to a road of recovery." Tourism is a top five industry in the Western Cape province which boasts some of South Africa's premier attractions: Cape Town, the Cape winelands, the popular Garden Route and the whale-watching hub of Hermanus. Foreign spending in the region topped 20 billion rand (2.7 billion dollars, 1.9 billion euros) for the first time last year, even though a stronger rand has made South Africa more expensive for foreigners. Domestic tourists brought in a further 4.5 billion rand. "Anything that is happening in the industry is of huge concern for the authorities," said Gilfellan. "It is indeed for us, the goose that lays the golden egg." But even the Cape Town summer -- when long sunny days draw crowds to the city's beaches, mountains and cafes -- did not go unscathed. With summer winding down, foreign arrivals are down six percent and locals three percent during the peak season that runs December 12 to January 13. Part of the visitor drop could be because holidaymakers plan to visit later during 2010 , said Kamilla Swart of the Centre for Tourism Research in Africa, told AFP. "It appears as if some visitors have changed their holiday plans to visit in June/July 2010 instead," she told AFP. "What we will have is another 'high' season, as June and July are generally quieter tourism months in Cape Town." Predictions for the World Cup are "excellent", said Nick Seewer of the Orient-Express group which owns Cape Town's luxury Mount Nelson Hotel. The group, which draws 70-80 percent of business from outside South Africa, reported a healthy summer after knocks during the year. This is despite an overall dip of at least 10 percent among top-end bookings in the province. "We hope that, with a successful World Cup and revitalised world economies... both corporate and leisure travel to South and southern Africa will greatly improve," Seewer said. With a new football stadium wedged between the landmark Table Mountain and Nelson Mandela's Robben Island prison, Cape Town is well-positioned to reap World Cup rewards despite 2010 fixtures ending at a semi-final match. "Cape Town is indeed South Africa's premier destination," said tourism analyst Wolfgang Thomas. "This also explains why it has in the past usually been able to perform better during phases of decline." But he also cautioned on anticipated visitor numbers, which have been tipped as high as 483 ,000 tourists, saying they "may be quite unrealistic". The United Nations' WTO predicts a strong 2010 for African tourism with the World Cup an "extra boost" -- something the industry is banking on. "A lot of people are holding back and wanting to do something in the year of 2010 ," said Gilfellan. "They want to say I've been in South Africa during the historic moment -- for the first time when the World Cup was hosted in Africa."

Hong Kong's exports rising

Hong Kong's exports rose for the second consecutive month in December, but total shipments in 2009 still recorded a double-digit tumble from the previous year, the government said Tuesday. Orders from around Asia, including India, Taiwan and Indonesia, helped push the city's overseas shipments up 9.2 percent in December with a value of a 224.8 billion Hong Kong dollars (29 billion US dollars), the government said. The rise follows a 1.3 percent year-on-year uptick in November exports. December imports rose 18.7 percent to 258.3 billion Hong Kong dollars, following a 6.5 percent year-on-year increase in November, according to the Census and Statistics Department.

Japan interest rates kept on hold

Japan's central bank has kept its key interest rate unchanged at just above zero and underlined its determination to overcome deflation. As widely expected, the board of the Bank of Japan unanimously opted to keep interest rates at 0.1 %. It said the world's second largest economy was improving, but further government support was needed to maintain the recovery. The board also said overcoming deflation was a "critical challenge". Falling prices "Japan's economy is picking up mainly due to various policy measures taken at home and abroad, although there is not yet sufficient momentum to support a self-sustaining recovery in domestic private demand," it said. The board added it expected Japan's economy to shrink by 2.5 % in the current financial year, an improvement on its previous estimate of a 3.2 % contraction. It also forecast growth of 1.3 % for the 2010-2011 financial year, up from its previous estimate of 1.2 %. The bank was less optimistic about deflation, saying that prices were likely to continue falling for three years. "The bank recognises that it is a critical challenge for Japan's economy to overcome deflation and return to a sustainable growth path with price stability," it said. Revised outlook Some analysts expressed disappointment at the government's attempts to stop prices falling. "I think deflation will be deeper than they think. I find it very disappointing that the central bank has decided not to change its policy," said Darius Kowalczyk, chief investment strategist at SJS Markets in Hong Kong. "They should expand their quantitative easing policies and be more aggressive, like Western banks were during the crisis." Standard & Poor's credit rating agency also expressed concern about both deflation and the high levels of Japanese government debt. It affirmed the economy's AA rating, but revised its outlook down from "stable" to " negative".

UK economy out of recession

The UK economy has come out of recession, after figures showed it had grown by a weaker-than- expected 0.1 % in the last three months of 2009. The economy had previously contracted for six consecutive quarters - the longest period since quarterly figures were first recorded in 1955. There have been recent recovery signs - last week, UK unemployment fell for the first time in 18 months. The UK's had been the last major economy still in recession. Europe's two biggest economies - Germany and France - came out of recession last summer. Japan and the US also emerged from recession last year. The weak level of growth took its toll on the value of the pound, which fell against both the dollar and the euro on the money markets. 'Below expectations' "We can say that Britain has just crossed the line in coming out of recession," said BBC chief economics correspondent Hugh Pym. "It [the growth figure] was below analysts' expectations. The figure could be moved down, or indeed upwards."

General Motors will invest in electric car

General Motors (GM) has announced plans to invest $246 m (£152 m) in the production of electric motors to power electric and hybrid vehicles. GM is currently getting its electric motors from third-party suppliers. "In the future, electric motors might become as important to GM as engines are now," said the carmaker' s vice-president, Tom Stephens. GM said the motors would be built in the US, although it did not say where, and would be ready for use in 2013. "By designing and manufacturing electric motors in-house, we can more efficiently use energy from batteries as they evolve, potentially reducing cost and weight - two significant challenges facing batteries today, " Mr Stephens said. GM plans to launch the Chevrolet Volt hybrid car later this year. It will be a direct competitor to Toyota's Prius, which is the current market-leading hybrid. GM sees electric vehicles as important to reviving its long-term fortunes following its emergence from bankruptcy protection last summer.

Siemens profit up

German engineering group Siemens has reported a big jump in profits for the final three months of last year, largely as a result of cutting costs. Net income for the quarter came in at 1.53 bn euros ($2.16 bn; £1.33 bn), a rise of 24 % on the 1.23 bn euros recorded for the same period a year earlier. However, overall revenue fell by 12 %, from 19.6 bn euros to 17.4 bn euros. This was largely due to disappointing performance in the industrial sector, where revenue fell by 13 %. Revenue from energy products fell by 10 Challenging year "Earnings for the first quarter provide a gratifying snap-shot of the current situation, " said chief executive Peter Loescher. "The actions we took at a very early stage are now cushioning us from the ongoing repercussions of the global recession." However, the company was cautious in its outlook for the coming year. "Siemens anticipates that conditions in the manufacturing sector and world financial markets will remain challenging in fiscal 2010 " it said. "Following a double-digit decline in orders in fiscal 2009 , we expect only a mid-single-digit percentage decline in revenue in fiscal 2010.

Apple's profit increase

Apple has announced a 50 % increase in profits after seeing a bumper Christmas period, in which sales of iPhones doubled from a year ago. Net income rose to $3.38 bn (£2.08 bn) in the three months to 26 December, from the $2. 26 bn it made the previous year. Apple said it sold 8.7 million iPhones in the quarter. Sales of Macs also rose 33 %, although iPod sales fell by 8 %. But the results were boosted by a new accounting standard that records revenue at the point of sale. Previously, revenue was deferred over the life of products. On Wednesday, the firm will announce a new product, widely expected to be a touch- screen "tablet" computer. The company has previously used January launches to unveil products including the iPhone and the MacBook Air. Apple shares rose $5.33 , or 2.7 %, to close at $ 203.08 in New York before the results came out. In extended trading the shares rose a further $1.28 to $ 204.36. 'Phenomenal sales' Sales in the first quarter rose to $15.7 bn from $11.9 bn in the same period a year ago. " The new products we are planning to release this year are very strong, starting this week with a major new product that we're really excited about " Steve Jobs, Apple chief executive Sales of the iPhone were boosted by its roll- out in China, the world's biggest mobile phone market. Mac sales rose to 3.36 million during the quarter while sales of iPods fell to 21 million. Analysts were impressed with the results. "It was a very good quarter, as expected. It's a continued sign that Apple has great products that consumers want despite this recession," commented Daniel Ernst from Hudson Square Research. "Mac sales were phenomenal as well... Macs continue to gain share and what's interesting is that it only has 3.6 % share globally so there's a lot of headroom." Apple forecast sales for the current quarter of between $11 bn and $11.4 bn.

Jaguar Land Rover boss to depart

The chief executive of Jaguar Land Rover, David Smith, is to stand down, the carmaker has confirmed. The firm said his departure was not linked to the recent breakdown of talks with unions over pay and pensions. Jaguar Land Rover, part of India's Tata Motors, is seeking to reduce wages and pension provision for new staff. BBC business editor Robert Peston said Mr Smith's departure would "raise concerns about possible disagreements over strategy". Jaguar Land Rover said director Ravi Kant would now assist with the handover of Mr Smith's duties, and assume the day to day responsibilities of the chief executive role until a permanent successor was announced. The company thanked Mr Smith "for his efforts in the role and for his service to Jaguar and Land Rover over many years". Tata Motors bought Jaguar Land Rover from US group Ford in 2008 for $2.3 bn (£1.4 bn). Proposed changes Talks between Jaguar Land Rover bosses and unions broke down last week after six days of discussions. The talks centred on proposed changes to pay and pensions that the firm announced in September as part of its strategic review. Jaguar Land Rover has offered to guarantee that 8 ,000 full-time staff will be kept on until 2015 in return for cuts to new starters' salaries and pensions. The firm wants to trim the wages of new employees by 20 %, and close its final salary pension scheme to new members. Plant closure Jaguar Land Rover is continuing with efforts to reduce costs after it saw its sales fall by more than a quarter last year. Sales across the firm's two brands declined by 26 % in 2009. Those at Jaguar were down 33 %, while those of Land Rover - including Range Rover - were 23 % lower. However, sales recovered in December, with Land Rover adding 45 % from a year earlier, and Jaguar's rising 5 %. In September, Jaguar Land Rover announced that it planned to cut one of its two factories in the West Midlands - either Castle Bromwich in Birmingham, or Solihull - by 2014.

Toyota Motors glober sales down

Japan's Toyota Motor Corp said Monday its global vehicle sales fell 13 per cent in 2009 to about 7.81 million vehicles, reducing its lead over Germany's Volkswagen, which enjoyed a record year. It was a dramatic turnaround from 2008, when Toyota ended the 77-year reign of US giant General Motors as the world's top-selling automaker with sales of 8.97 million vehicles, including subsidiaries Hino and Daihatsu. Now Volkswagen, Europe's biggest carmaker, aims to overtake Toyota by 2018 as the global number one. VW has reported 2009 sales of 6.29 million vehicles, up 1.1 per cent from the previous year. Last month it said it would buy 19.9 per cent of Japan's Suzuki for more than $2.5 billion, boosting its global expansion. Toyota — the maker of the Corolla, Lexus and Prius vehicles — was battered by the global economic crisis and fell into the red for the first time in the year to March 2009. It has slashed thousands of jobs. Under president Akio Toyoda — the grandson of its founder — who took the helm in June, it has exited Formula One racing and ended a joint venture with GM. More recently, Toyota's reputation for top-notch safety has been hit by a series of recalls affecting millions of vehicles in the United States and tens of thousands of cars in China.

UK company will invest Dhaka EPZ

An UK-based company will set up a high fashion garment manufacturing industry in the Dhaka Export Processing Zone. The company, Talisman Limited, will invest $5 million for setting up their unit to produce garment items. It will also create employment opportunity for 1,800 Bangladeshi nationals. An agreement to this effect was signed between the Bangladesh Export Processing Zones Authority and the Talisman Ltd in BEPZA Complex in Dhaka on Sunday. BEPZA member (investment promotion) Moyjuddin Ahmed and chairman and managing director of the company MA Matin signed the agreement on behalf of their respective sides.

Tourism festival begin 30 january in Bangladesh

A month-long tourism festival is going to be kicked off on January 30, aiming to promote the country's tourism industry during the 11th South Asian Games to be held in Bangladesh. 'We're going to organise the tourism fair at the Public Library coinciding with the South Asian Games,' Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation chairman Hemayet Uddin Talukder told reporters at a press briefing Sunday. The South Asian Games is scheduled to start on January 29 and conclude February 9. The games will be held at 23 venues across the country. As part of the month-long fair, the BPC will arrange various events, including photo exhibition featuring tourism sites, food festival, fashion show and concert. Besides, various tourism organisations will also organise different attractive events like sand-sculpture, beach- football and seafood contest. Terming the festival is a great opportunity for depicting the country's tourism spots, tourism secretary Shafiq Alam Mehedi said the festival will also help send out a message to tourists that Bangladesh is blessed with many attractive tourism sites among the south Asian countries.

Vietnam will develop their larget power plant

Authorities in energy-hungry Vietnam have approved development of the country's largest thermal power project, worth at least 2.5 billion dollars, the developer said. In a statement Monday, the Vinh Tan 3 Energy Joint Stock Company (VTEC) said its 2 ,000 megawatt project, to be built in southern Binh Thuan province under a build-operate- transfer framework, will use imported coal. The consortium aims to start construction late next year for operation in 2014-15. VTEC is a consortium of CLP Holdings of Hong Kong, Mitsubishi Corp, Electricity of Vietnam and Pacific Corporation of Vietnam.

Philips Electronics see profit

Royal Philips Electronics NV, the world's largest maker of lights, reported a net profit of 251 million euros ($355 million) for the fourth quarter on Monday, helped by lower one-time charges and by job cuts. The net profit reverses a loss of euro1.18 billion in the same period a year ago, which included 629 million euros in impairment charges on assets. Fourth quarter sales fell 3. 4 percent to euro7.26 billion. Philips has shed 5 ,474 jobs in the past year and now employs around 116 ,000. Chief Executive Gerard Kleisterlee said operating profit margins, excluding restructuring charges, were above 12 percent, their highest level in a decade. Shares rose 4.7 percent in early Amsterdam trading to 21.285 euros. The results "were better than expected on most counts," analyst Eric de Graaf of Petercam Bank wrote in a note on the earnings. Though sales declined at Philips' consumer products and lighting divisions, De Graaf said they were still better than expected, and " margins were better...all across the board."

Taiwan will creat more new job

Taiwan's President Ma Ying-jeou said Sunday his government aimed to create 100 ,000 jobs this year in a bid to cut the island's unemployment rate significantly. Taiwan's Council for Economic Planning and Development has set a target for lowering the island's jobless rate from just under six percent in 2009 to 4.9 percent this year, a goal that Ma said would be "no easy task." To help achieve that target, "the government will try to create up to 100 ,000 jobs this year, " Ma said during a trip to Hualien, in eastern Taiwan, without providing details of the job- creation scheme. He said there were encouraging signs for employment, including a gradual recovery in the the high-tech and electronic sectors and a consecutive decline in the unemployment rate for the last four months of 2009.

Iran budget will based on oil price next year

Iran planned next year's budget based on an oil price of $60 per barrel, nearly double the price from the last year, the official news agency reported on Sunday, indicating rising optimism over energy prices. Last year, the parliament approved a budget based on $37.5 per barrel for the fiscal year ending in March, reflecting the steep drop in prices that severely impacted the economy. About 80 percent of Iran's foreign revenue comes from oil exports. Earlier on Sunday President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad submitted the budget to the Iranian parliament for approval, saying more money would be allocated to agriculture, education and research, as well as to the poor. He did not give the size of the budget only saying there was "nothing complicated or untransparent" in it. Iran's parliament speaker Ali Larijani said the amount would be revealed later, according to IRNA. The budget requires approval of the parliament and a constitutional watchdog. Semi-official Mehr news agency, however, said the amount of the budget was about $368 billion, some $89 billion more than the current Iranian year. The report said some $270 billion of the budget is predicted for state banks and public sector companies, a mainstay of the economy.

China airlines in profit

China's airlines returned to profit in 2009 as traffic rose, fuel prices fell and government policies provided a favourable tailwind, but analysts warn they could face fresh turbulence this year. The country's three biggest carriers -- China Southern Airlines, Air China and China Eastern Airlines -- all suffered heavy losses in 2008 as the global economic crisis struck, but said this month they will be in the black for 2009. The industry as a whole posted a combined profit of 7.4 billion yuan (1.1 billion dollars) in 2009 and passenger volume grew 19.7 percent on-year to 230 million, according to the Civil Aviation Administration of China. But analysts said while the outlook remained solid for 2010 , the airlines would lose steam as the explosive growth in passenger volume slowed, with some travellers opting to stay home and others looking at cheaper forms of transport. "We are generally optimistic about the aviation industry, given the positive fundamentals such as the 2010 World Expo and continued economic recovery," said Chen Huanyu, an analyst at brokerage Guotai Junan in Hong Kong. But he warned the 2009 turnaround was largely underpinned by non-operating profits such as gains in fuel hedging deals and nearly two billion dollars of government aid granted to the top three carriers since late 2008. "We are going to see some uphills and downhills in their earnings in 2010 and maybe the following year," Chen said, noting carriers would be hit with the resumption of payments to an infrastructure fund, halted during the crisis.

Unemployment problem rise in USA

Unemployment rates rose in 43 states last month, the government said Friday, painting a bleak picture of the job market and illustrating nationwide data released two weeks ago. The rise in joblessness was a sharp change from November, when 36 states said their unemployment rates fell. Four states — South Carolina, Delaware, Florida and North Carolina — reported record-high jobless rates in December. New Jersey's rate, meanwhile, rose to a 33-year high of 10.1 per cent while New York's reached a 26-year high of 9 per cent. Analysts said the report showed the economy is recovering at too weak a pace to generate consistent job creation. 'A lot of states that had started to add jobs (in November) gave up those gains in December,' said Sophia Koropeckyj, managing director at Moody' s Economy.com. Texas and Georgia lost more jobs in December than they had gained the previous month, she noted, while Arizona and South Carolina lost nearly as many as they had gained. That is consistent with nationwide trends. Employers shed a net total of 85,000 jobs in December, the government said earlier this month, after notching a small gain of 4,000 jobs in November. In another nationwide trend, long- suffering states like California and Michigan saw their jobless rates stabilize even as they continued to bleed jobs. That's because thousands of frustrated workers gave up hunting for work and dropped out of the labour force, which means they aren't included in the unemployment rate. California lost 38,800 jobs, the most of any state. But its unemployment rate was unchanged at 12.4 per cent, the fifth-highest in the nation. That's because 107,000 people, or 0.6 per cent of the state's work force, gave up and stopped job-hunting. Michigan shed 15,700 jobs, but 31,000 people left the labour force. That caused the state's jobless rate to fall slightly, to 14.6 per cent from 14.7 per cent. Michigan has the nation's highest unemployment rate.

Global steel output fall

Global crude steel dropped 8 per cent in 2009, in one of the worst downturns in its history, but analysts expect production to rise around 10 per cent this year as the $500 billion industry slowly recovers. The world produced 1.22 billion tonnes of crude steel in 2009, its lowest level since 1.144 billion tonnes in 2005, figures from the Brussels-based World Steel Association, whose members represent 85 per cent of steel output, showed on Friday. China strengthened its position as the world's top producer, with its production rising to a record high at 567.8 million tonnes. After last year's 13.5 per cent rise in its output, the country now accounts for 46.5 per cent of the world's total production and is set to be the engine of growth once again in 2010. 'Even at a modest growth rate of 8- 10 per cent, the impact on the global industry will be huge,' said John Lichtenstein, global leader of steel at Accenture. 'Global steel production and demand should rise by around 10 per cent in 2010 over 2009, bringing production back to the 2008 level of approximately 1.2 billion tonnes,' he said. Signs of recovery were evident in monthly figures from last year. In December, output rose by 30.2 per cent year-on-year to 106.4 million tonnes although they showed a slight fall compared with November's 117 million tonnes. Macquarie Bank expects crude steel production at 1.365 billion tonnes this year, citing a phase of restocking after a sharp destocking last year, which would boost production. The recovery of steel production and demand is set to vary greatly according to regions and the pace of growth could be faster in the developed world, which has seen falls of over 30 per cent in output last year. 'Mature economies will show a higher recovery rate in 2010, in the range of 12-15 per cent,' Accenture's Lichtenstein said. 'Because the acceleration of growth in the mature economies is from a very low consumption level, it will not be sufficient to close the

Plastic fair begin tomorrow in Dhaka

The 6th 'Dhaka International Plastic, Packaging and Printing Industrial Fair- 2010' will begin at Bangabandhu International Conference Centre in Dhaka tomorrow for showcasing local plastic goods, raw materials and machinery. President of Bangladesh Plastic Goods Manufacturers and Exporters Association Ferdous Wahed made the announcement at a press conference at the association's Paltan office on Saturday. Speaking on the occasion, 'We are trying to expand the plastic industry sector gradually as the present government has given priority to the trade and commerce sector,' said Ferdous Wahed. The main objective of holding the fair is to bring a opportunity for the Bangladesh plastic industry through developing new alternative sources, he said. Leading plastic technology and manufacturing countries including China, Taiwan, Thailand, India, Vietnam, Korea, Turkey, Austria and host Bangladesh will participate in the fair with their latest plastic items including plastic sack, shopping bag, toys and various household items. Some 200 stalls will be set up in the fair.

China government will help to get employment for college student

A college diploma is still the ticket to a good job in China, even under the deepest economic slump in decades, the latest official graduate employment rate shows. "Last year, we made all efforts to help the college seniors find jobs and the employment rate reached 87 percent by the end of last year," Yin Chengji, spokesman with the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security said at a press conference on Friday. The data with the ministry showed that the number of college grads is more than 6.1 million last year and will reach 6.3 million this year. Helping graduates find employment in 2010 is still at the top of the government's agenda, Yin said, adding they will provide employment information and government-funded posts in communities for those unemployed grads. But the large number of graduates this year is posing a great challenge to the authorities in how to help them get employed, he added. Last year alone, in order to increase the graduate employment rate, about half a million government-funded positions were provided to grads, Chen Jianhui, deputy- director of the Chinese Talents Society told China Daily on Friday. "With the efforts taken by the authorities, getting a job for a college grad is not that difficult. For the rest of the unemployed, some of them have impractical expectations for their first jobs," Chen said. Wang Boqing, manager of MyCOS HR Digital Information Co Ltd, said the rate is reasonable, and that many students landed work in the last half of the year. As a senior student majoring in information engineering at Communication University of China, Ai Zeng believes the employment rate among his fellow students who graduated last year could be even higher than 87 percent. "None of my classmates failed to find their bread last year," Ai said.

Malaysian government want to setup textile, electronics and furni ture industries in Bangladesh

Malaysian government is keen to relocate textile, electronics and furniture industries in Bangladesh for mutual benefit of the two Muslim nations. "A Malaysian business delegation will arrive here soon to carry forward the matter," said president of Bangladesh Malaysia Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BMCCI) Syed Moazzem Hossain at a press conference here. The press conference was organized to disclose key successes of the three-day trade fair titled Showcase Bangladesh-2010 held in Kuala Lumpur on Jan 8-10. Former chamber president Salauddin Quashem, chairman of fair organizing committee MA Salam and other office bearers of the BMCCI were present on the occasion. Hossain described the showcase a successful one and said the entrepreneurs were able to project Bangladesh's potentials in Malaysia. Highlighting achievements of the fair, he said two trade related Memorandum of Understanding (MOUs) on RMG products and electronic banking are among the significant achievements of the trade exposition. During the fair, he said, Malaysian minister of international trade and industry assured the delegation of Bangladesh government of eradicating trade barriers mutually. Moreover, Malaysian high commissioner in Dhaka has expressed his country's interest to invest in Bangladesh's tourism sector, said the BMCCI president. A list of 19 items of Bangladeshi products including jute goods, frozen foods and ceramics already handed over to the Malaysian government for ensuring duty free market access to Kuala Lumpur. Hossain said there are some trade barriers between Malaysia and Bangladesh and Bangladesh could raise its export to Malaysia one billion US dollar if the existing trade barriers with Kuala Lumpur are resolved Malaysia exported goods worth 694 million US dollar to Bangladesh last year while Bangladesh's export stood at only 31.28 million US dollar.

Bangladeshi RMG trade fair in India in april

Bangladesh is going to hold single country trade fairs of readymade garment (RMG) and textile products for the first time in four Indian big cities in April, which businesspeople see as an icebreaking initiative to increase bilateral trade volume. "Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore and Hyderabad are the cities where such fairs will be organised," said Abdus Salam Murshedy, president of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association. This trade body of Bangladesh and Indian state-run Apparel Export Promotion Council ( AEPC) agreed to organise such a big exposition, following the recent visit of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to Delhi. Her entourage included a high profile business delegation, which had BGMEA representation. Business between the two countries among other things came up for discussion during Hasina's January 10-14 official visit to the next door neighbour. BGMEA chief further said, "In connection with organising the fairs, an AEPC team is scheduled to arrive in Dhaka in the first week of February." In another development, India agreed to augment the imports of apparels to 14 million pieces fro 8 million pieces now with a zero tariff benefit every year. Dhaka is entitled to such duty-free benefit from Delhi under a pact for free trade, or Safta (South Asian Free Trade Agreement). During AEPC team's stay in Bangladesh's capital city, it will also visit the BGMEA Institute of Fashion and Technology (BIFT). It, as per an understanding during Dhaka's business team's Delhi visit, may reach an agreement with BIFT to extend technical support in developing innovative fashion and design in Bangladesh's garment items, Murshedy said. Bangladesh will mainly showcase woven ( pants and basic shirts) sweater and knit items in the fairs. "I am hopeful that this time apparel business will pick up with India as it has $27 billion domestic clothing market with 18 percent annual growth rate. India needs to outsource garment items from its neighbouring country, " BGMEA chief said.

Bangladesh Garment Workers want minimum payout 5000 tk

Bangladesh Garment Workers Unity Council yesterday announced a 90- day programme to press a series of demands, including a raise in minimum wage to Tk 5 ,000 from the existing Tk 1 , 662.50 per month. The two other major demands by the platform of garment workers are amendments to Bangladesh labour law and reversing the move to introduce industrial police. At a press conference at Dhaka Reporters Unity, Towhidur Rahman, president of Bangladesh Poshak Shilpa Sramik Federation, said workers can hardly purchase enough food with the salary they get now. "So, it is our demand to increase the minimum pay to Tk 5 ,000 a month." Meanwhile, Ikteder Ahmed, chairman of Minimum Wages Board, convenes its first meeting today to review minimum pay for garment workers. "I have already informed all the members of the board to attend the meeting," he told The Daily Star. The Minimum Wages Board for garment workers was formed in 2006. Nazma Akter, a member of the board, said the prices of basic commodities almost doubled from 2006. "So, it is a must to review the minimum wages of garment workers for their survival."

Citi officials in Dhaka

Philip Brown, director (risk) for Citi Micro- finance, arrived in Dhaka yesterday on a four-day visit, says the bank in a statement. During his stay, Brown will meet the bank's major clients in Bangladesh to facilitate the microfinance risk roundtable being held for the first time in Bangladesh. Brown, a member of the Governing Council of the Centre for the Study of Financial Innovation (UK) and the Advisory Council of the Centre for Financial Inclusion (USA), is responsible for developing policies, programmes and risk tools to enable Citi's businesses to commercially engage in the sector. Before moving to Citi Microfinance, he was the risk director for Project Finance and Structured Trade Finance within Europe, Middle East and Africa.

Google co-founder will sale 5m share

Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin each plan to sell five million shares in the Internet giant, a move that would reduce their joint holdings to below 50 percent, according to a filing Friday with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The SEC filing said the stock sales, which will occur over the next five years, are part of a pre-determined stock trading plan set up by Page and Brin on November 30 , 2009. It said the Google co-founders currently hold about 57.7 million shares of Google stock, which represents 18 percent of Google's outstanding shares and 59 percent of the voting power. Page and Brin each plan to sell five million shares, which would leave them with approximately 47.7 million shares or 15 percent of Google's outstanding shares and 48 percent of the voting power, the SEC filing said. Although Page and Brin would no longer hold a majority of the voting power, their remaining holdings would allow them to continue to exert control over the Internet search and advertising giant.

Maruti Suzuki profit tripled

India's leading carmaker Maruti Suzuki reported Saturday its quarterly net profit more than tripled, fuelled by cheap loans and a reviving domestic economy. Maruti, majority owned by Japan's Suzuki Motor Corp, said net profit during the fiscal third quarter soared to 6.88 billion rupees (149 million dollars) from 2.14 billion rupees a year earlier. The figure outstripped market expectations that profit for the three months to December would total about 5.8 billion rupees. The company, which sells about one in two cars in the country, said sales jumped 62.5 percent to 73.34 billion rupees. The car manufacturer attributed the profit increase partly to government stimulus measures aimed at boosting the economy that have put more money into the hands of India's increasingly affluent middle class. "Favourable conditions in the domestic market supported by the government's stimulus package and ease of automobile finance helped achieve good sales," the company said in a statement.

UK car production fall

UK car production fell 30.9 % in 2009 from the previous year following the collapse in the global car market, industry figures have shown. Just under one million cars were made in the UK last year, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers (SMMT). The fall in production came despite a strong December, which saw production rebound by more than 58 % compared with December 2008. However, the SMMT warned that 2010 would remain tough for manufacturers. "The significant rise in December vehicle production is welcome news and signals some greater stability across global automotive markets," said Paul Everitt, chief executive of the SMMT. "We expect the year ahead to be extremely challenging... [and] car and commercial vehicle production will remain well below pre- recession levels." Commercial vehicle production was down more than 55 % in 2009 , the figures show. Scrappage effect Car production fell globally last year in response to the collapse in demand for cars following the economic downturn. However, the government's car scrappage scheme, introduced in May and extended in September, was credited with boosting demand. The SMMT estimates the scheme - which offers a £2 ,000 incentive to scrap old cars and buy new ones - has been responsible for about a fifth of all new car registrations since its introduction in May last year. However, the scheme is expected to run out of funding in February. "Consumers still wanting to benefit from the scheme should put their orders in quickly as time is running out," said a spokesman from the Department for Business Innovation and Skills. The spokesman added that the industry had " responded well to challenges" in 2009 , using temporary cuts in production to prevent permanent loss of capacity.

Motorola in Blackberry complaint

Motorola has asked US regulators to ban Research in Motion (RIM), the Canadian firm behind the Blackberry, from importing its products into the US. The phone company claims that the Blackberry maker has been illegally using its wi-fi related technology. A court case is already pending in the US but Motorola has accused RIM of "delaying tactics". Motorola has lodged its complaint with the US International Trade Commission (ITC) in the hope of a quicker result. "Motorola has no choice but to file a complaint with the ITC to halt RIM's continued infringement" said Motorola's legal representative, Jonathan Meyer. The ITC typically takes about a month to decide whether to launch an investigation, which takes 12 to 14 months to complete. It can't award damages but it can stop products from being shipped into the US. The complaint stems from the two companies failing to renew a cross-licensing agreement. "These patented technologies are important to Motorola as the allow for more comprehensive connectivity, a better user experience and lower product costs," Motorola said in its statement. Research In Motion declined to comment on the case.

Sony Ericsson post loss

Mobile phone maker Sony Ericsson on Friday said its loss in the fourth quarter narrowed 9 per cent from a year ago to euro167 million ($235 million), as improved margins and lower costs offset a slump in sales. The figure compared with a euro187 million loss last year, but sales fell 40 per cent as the joint venture between LM Ericsson and Sony Corp. was caught unprepared by consumers' rapid shift to touch screen phones. Bert Nordberg, Sony Ericsson's new president, said that although he expects 2010 to be a challenging year, he is confident the group's cost-cutting measures and move toward more mid- and high-end products has put his company 'on the right track.' 'We will continue to focus on returning the company to profitability by establishing Sony Ericsson as the communication entertainment brand based on an exciting portfolio,' he said, pointing to recently announced products such as its Android-based phone XPERIA X10. Units shipped in the October- December period amounted to 14.6 million units, up 3 per cent from the third quarter but still down 40 per cent from the same period a year ago. For the full year 2009, the net loss amounted to euro836 million, compared with a previous profit of euro73 million. In 2008, Sony Ericsson launched a cost-cutting program under which it had by the end of 2009 slashed its global workforce by around 2,500 people to 9, 100. Sony Ericsson, which aims to cut operating costs by euro880 million, reiterated that the full effect of the measures are expected in the second half of this year.

Asia-Pacific airlines passenger reduce

Asia-Pacific airlines suffered a 5.7 per cent drop in passenger numbers and an 11 per cent slump in cargo traffic in 2009 as they weathered their worst ever downturn, an industry body said Friday. The Association of Asia Pacific Airlines said that the collapse in corporate travel and intense price competition during the global recession saw airline revenues tumble 20-25 per cent. 'We have been through downturns before, but none as severe as we've experienced in the past two years,' AAPA director general Andrew Herdman said in a statement. Airlines cut flights and cargo capacity, and shaved back on costs, but were still not able to fully offset the effects of sharply lower revenues, compounded by continuing volatility in oil prices, he said. 'Overall, Asia Pacific airlines are expected to report significant losses for 2009, following similar heavy losses suffered in 2008,' he said. However, Herdman said traffic numbers in recent months had shown signs of recovery. 'The cargo business is regaining some of its dynamism, and passenger demand on short haul leisure routes within the region has already picked up, although business travel demand is recovering more slowly,' he said. Regional airlines faced the task of ' conserving cash, rebuilding damaged balance sheets, and carefully managing capacity to match demand as they work towards restoring profitability.' 'Whilst we remain hopeful about future prospects, the outlook for 2010 very much depends on the sustainability of what still appears to be a rather fragile global economic recovery.' The International Air Transport Association has said it expects Asia- Pacific carriers to lose $700 million this year, an improvement from the $3.4 billion lost last year. Singapore Airlines posted its first quarterly loss in six years during the June 2009 quarter and deferred the delivery of eight A380 superjumbos. Australia's Qantas and Hong Kong's Cathay Pacific also saw earnings slump.

McDonald’s sales and profit rise

More hungry diners gobbling its cheap eats helped McDonald's Corp's sales and profit grow in its fourth quarter, the company said Friday in an earnings report showing it continued to weather the downturn better than many of its fast-food competitors. But sales growth at its US restaurants continued to slow and net revenue fell for the year. For the three months that ended December 31, the world's largest burger chain earned $1.22 billion, or $1.11 per share. That's 23 per cent more than a year earlier when it earned $985.3 million, or 87 cents per share. Excluding a one-time benefit of 8 cents per share, McDonald's profit topped analyst estimates by a penny per share. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters, who typically omit one-time items from their estimates, expected the chain to earn $1.02 per share for the quarter. Revenue climbed 7 per cent to $5.97 billion from $5.57 billion. Analysts expected revenue of $5.94 billion. Because of its size and its increasingly popular dollar menu, McDonald's was an early beneficiary of the recession as diners traded down from pricier restaurants. But sales at its restaurants that have been open at least a year have slowed as penny-pinching diners tried to cut back still further. The figure grew 2.3 per cent worldwide for the fourth quarter and 0.1 per cent in the U.S., McDonald's said Friday. That was its weakest quarterly increase in at least three years. The figure is an important measure for restaurants because it excludes the effect of restaurants opening or closing during the year.

General Electric Co’s profit fall

General Electric Co's quarterly earnings topped Wall Street expectations, as it kept costs in line despite sluggish demand for jet engines, railroad locomotives and other heavy equipment. The largest US conglomerate said on Friday that fourth-quarter profit attributable to common shareholders fell 19 per cent to $2.94 billion, or 28 cents per share, from $3.65 billion, or 35 cents per share, a year earlier. Analysts on average expected profit of 26 cents per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. Revenue fell 10 per cent to $41.44 billion. Wall Street had looked for revenue of $40.02 billion. GE shares eased 1 per cent to $15.85 in pre- market trading. Chief executive Jeff Immelt said the company's 2010 financial 'framework,' which calls for 2010 earnings to be about equal to 2009 results, 'quite achievable.' The world's biggest maker of jet engines and electricity-producing turbines has been hit hard by the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression and is working to scale back its hefty GE Capital finance arm, which has invested heavily in commercial real estate. Profit was down at all GE units except for its energy infrastructure arm, which makes turbines and equipment used in oil and gas production. This will be a year of significant portfolio changes for GE. The company reached an agreement last month to sell a majority stake in its NBC Universal media business to top US cable operator Comcast Corp. GE officials expect that deal — which needs regulatory approval — to close late this year.

China’s crude steel output rise

China's crude steel output rose 13.5 per cent in 2009, official data shows, which analysts say could weaken the position of the nation's steel mills in this year's iron ore contract price negotiations. Production reached 567.8 million tonnes last year, according to figures released by the National Bureau of Statistics on Thursday, partly due to massive public spending on infrastructure projects. Analysts said the figure was a record and may increase pressure on Beijing to accept higher prices for iron ore — the key ingredient used to make steel — during talks with the world's major miners. 'In a situation where the industry is expected to increase output and its demand for iron ore, this impacts the iron ore price talks,' Fitch Ratings analyst Lim Su Aik told AFP. Lim said steel output could reach 600 million tonnes this year. 'The fiscal stimulus policy is still in place and the infrastructure projects are very much driven by government spending and that is one key driver for steel demand,' Lim said. China's iron ore imports surged 41.6 per cent to 627.8 million tonnes in 2009, with the value falling 17.4 per cent as prices were hit by the global downturn, customs data shows.