AVIATION
Traffic to Japan drops
The company that runs United and Continental airlines says it has seen a noticeable drop in people flying from the US to Japan in the days since the massive earthquake there. Megan McCarthy, a spokeswoman for United Continental Holdings Inc, says there has been a “modest decline” in overall traffic to and from Japan. However, she described the decline in traffic going from US cities to Japan as “measurable.” United and the other big US carrier serving Asia, Delta Air Lines Inc, both said they are continuing to operate their full schedules to Japan. Lufthansa and Alitalia have both diverted their Tokyo flights to other Japanese cities.
CASINOS
SJM profit quadruples
The Macau casino giant owned by tycoon Stanley Ho (何鴻燊) saw net profit almost quadruple last year, the firm said, days after a family feud over his multibillion-dollar empire was settled. Ho’s flagship Sociedade de Jogos de Macau (SJM) saw a net profit of HK$3.56 billion (US$456 million), up from HK$907 million in 2009, while revenue soared almost 68 percent to HK$57.65 billion, it said in an annual report on Wednesday. The company said its overall share of Macau’s casino sector grew to 31.3 percent last year, up from 29.4 percent in 2009.
GREECE
Trough likely this year
The ravaged Greek economy will likely hit a nadir in the second half of this year and then start regaining strength, the IMF said on Wednesday in a report on its bailout program. Given the depth of the collapse of the economy and government finances, it could take more time than other debt--ravaged European economies to recover, the IMF said. It also said near-term risks are significant, from contagion from other suffering economies, the likely rise in euro interest rates and continued problems in bank liabilities. The country continues to contract and a GDP shrinkage of 3 percent is likely this year, after shrinking about 4.5 percent last year.
UNITED KINGDOM
Economy to grow 1.5%
Britain’s economy will grow 1.5 percent this year owing to “significant headwinds,” the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) said on Wednesday in a downgraded forecast published one week before the country’s annual budget. The organization said Britain’s recovery that began in late 2009 “faces significant headwinds during 2011, which can be mitigated by monetary policy remaining supportive.” The Paris-based OECD forecast British GDP growth of 1.5 percent this year, down from a previous estimate of 1.7 percent. The forecast for GDP next year was unchanged at 2 percent.
AUSTRALIA
Carbon price recommended
Australia’s top climate adviser yesterday urged the government to set a carbon price of between A$20 and A$30 (US$19.7 and US$29.6) a tonne from the middle of next year, raising concerns from manufacturers over the cost of pollution, but winning support from environment groups. The carbon price proposed by economist Ross Garnaut is in line with mining industry and analyst forecasts, and would rise by 4 percent until a floating price kicks in with a full emissions trading scheme from mid-2015. Gillard has promised a fixed carbon price from the middle of next year, ahead of a full emissions trading scheme three to five years later, with details of the price and compensation to be worked out by a multi-party climate committee.
Stephen Garrett, a 27-year-old graduate student, always thought he would study in China, but first the country’s restrictive COVID-19 policies made it nearly impossible and now he has other concerns. The cost is one deterrent, but Garrett is more worried about restrictions on academic freedom and the personal risk of being stranded in China. He is not alone. Only about 700 American students are studying at Chinese universities, down from a peak of nearly 25,000 a decade ago, while there are nearly 300,000 Chinese students at US schools. Some young Americans are discouraged from investing their time in China by what they see
MAJOR DROP: CEO Tim Cook, who is visiting Hanoi, pledged the firm was committed to Vietnam after its smartphone shipments declined 9.6% annually in the first quarter Apple Inc yesterday said it would increase spending on suppliers in Vietnam, a key production hub, as CEO Tim Cook arrived in the country for a two-day visit. The iPhone maker announced the news in a statement on its Web site, but gave no details of how much it would spend or where the money would go. Cook is expected to meet programmers, content creators and students during his visit, online newspaper VnExpress reported. The visit comes as US President Joe Biden’s administration seeks to ramp up Vietnam’s role in the global tech supply chain to reduce the US’ dependence on China. Images on
New apartments in Taiwan’s major cities are getting smaller, while old apartments are increasingly occupied by older people, many of whom live alone, government data showed. The phenomenon has to do with sharpening unaffordable property prices and an aging population, property brokers said. Apartments with one bedroom that are two years old or older have gained a noticeable presence in the nation’s six special municipalities as well as Hsinchu county and city in the past five years, Evertrust Rehouse Co (永慶房產集團) found, citing data from the government’s real-price transaction platform. In Taipei, apartments with one bedroom accounted for 19 percent of deals last
US CONSCULTANT: The US Department of Commerce’s Ursula Burns is a rarely seen US government consultant to be put forward to sit on the board, nominated as an independent director Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, yesterday nominated 10 candidates for its new board of directors, including Ursula Burns from the US Department of Commerce. It is rare that TSMC has nominated a US government consultant to sit on its board. Burns was nominated as one of seven independent directors. She is vice chair of the department’s Advisory Council on Supply Chain Competitiveness. Burns is to stand for election at TSMC’s annual shareholders’ meeting on June 4 along with the rest of the candidates. TSMC chairman Mark Liu (劉德音) was not on the list after in December last