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Sunday, 24 November 2024
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European Business News 96-08-28European Business News (EBN) Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: The European Business News Server at <http://www.ebn.co.uk/>Page last updated August 28 10:00 CETCONTENTS
[01] Tankan report halts Japanese interest ratesExpectations of a possible rise in Japanese interest rates were put on hold this morning after the Bank of Japan's Tankan report defied most predictions by sliding further into negative territory. The survey of business conditions said its key diffusion index measuring the sentiment of corporate executives dropped to minus 7 for major manufacturers in August. That's from minus 3 registered in the previous survey in May.[02] Sandoz and Ciba-Geigy's results below analysts expectationsThe reporting season in the Swiss pharmaceuticals industry continued today with both Sandoz and Ciba Geigy announcing half year results below analysts expectations.Sandoz said that net profit was up 12 percent to more than 1.2 billion Swiss francs that's just over 1 billion dollars. The company also expressed confidence that operating profit was developing favourably and that the company would match last year's full year figures. Ciba-Geigy which is planning to merge with Sandoz into Novartis saw net profits for the first six months up 6 percent. They came in at almost 1.6 billion francs. [03] WH Smith's posts £194M pretax lossW H Smith, one of Britain's top newsagents, has reported a full-year pretax loss of more than 194 million pounds or about 304 million dollars after exceptional items.That's the first loss in its 204-year history. WH Smith said that trading in the current year was patchy, with a positive sales trend in books, news, magazines and stationery offset by disappointing sales of music, videos and computer games. [04] UK economists expect June and July figures to show widening in visible tradeIn the UK, economists expect trade figures for June and July to show the deficit in visible trade to widen. That's due to imports continuing to outstrip exports. Analysts agree that the data is putting pressure on the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Kenneth Clarke, to put the brakes on growth. This year, imports of goods and services have exceeded exports by an average of about 1.2 billion pounds a month. That left the trade deficit at 5.9 billion pounds at the end of May.[05] Sony's postpone digital videodisk playersSony the Japanese consumer electronics giant will postpone the introduction of digital videodisk players until next Spring.Sony said it was concerned about an initial lack of software for the new devices, which use disks the same size as compact disks but are capable of storing seven times as much information. However, other Japanese electronics makers such as Matsushita and Hitachi said they are still planning on rolling out their DVD players by the end of the year. [06] APEC unanimous on energy supply security principlesEnergy ministers from 18 nations of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation have unanimously adopted a series of principals aimed at achieving the long- term security of energy supplies to the region. At their two day conference in Sydney, the ministers also agreed to set up a regional energy research centre in Tokyo. The centre is to draw up a forecast of energy demand in the region until 2010. The 18-nations that make up APEC already consume more than half the world's energy.[07] FAA ask ValuJet for additional performance demonstrationsThe Federal Aviation Administration in the United States has asked ValuJet to conduct additional demonstrations of its performance before resuming operations.A ValuJet spokesman said that the FAA had approved the company's general maintenance and operations procedures. But it had required further proof that ValuJet fulfilled necessary safety requirements. The airline stopped operating after the crash on May 11, after one of its jets killed 110 people. [08] Prudential sells Mercantile & General to Swiss RePrudential Corp. PLC said Tuesday it will sell its Mercantile and General Reinsurance unit to Switzerland's Swiss Reinsurance Co. for £1.75 billion, in a deal designed to allow the U.K.'s largest life insurer to concentrate on developing its financial-services business.The transaction was agreed to and signed Monday and consists of £1.704 million in cash from the sale, plus a special dividend of 50 million. The transaction, which is still subject to regulatory approval, follows a review by Prudential after which the U.K. insurer decided to focus on financial services and fund management in its key markets in the U.K., U.S. and Asia, Prudential Group Chief Executive Peter Davis said in a statement. Prudential said the deal should net it more than it could have earned by floating the reinsurance business in a public offering. In June, Prudential said it was considering such a flotation. From the European Business News (EBN) Server at http://www.ebn.co.uk/European Business News (EBN) Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |
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