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World business quick take

■Interest rates
Hong Kong banks slash rates
Bank interest rates in Hong Kong were slashed to just 0.01 percent from yesterday, meaning a US$10,000 deposit will give an annual return of just one dollar. Banks in the territory have cut their interest rates to a new low in response to the half-point cut to 1.25 percent on Wednesday in the US. Lending rates have been cut by 0.125 percentage points from 5.125 percent to 5 percent and savings rates from 0.125 percent to their lowest ever level of 0.001 percent. The banks have been criticized for failing to pass on the full 0.5 percentage point interest rate cut, although most observers believe a cut at any level would have little impact on Hong Kong's economy. Interest rates have been edging towards zero for some time and the uptake of mortgages remains sluggish following a 60 percent slump in property prices since their 1997 peak.

■ US-EU trade
Captains of industry meet
Captains of industry and senior US and EU officials gathered in Chicago Thursday under heavy security for a summit aimed at toppling hurdles to transatlantic business. Boeing chief executive officer Phil Condit and Sir Charles Masefield, vice chairman of BAE Systems, kicked off the two days of lobbying of top commerce officials, calling for greater transatlantic co-operation on regulatory matters. "What we need is ... harmonization of the regulation of capital markets and financial services across the Atlantic," said Masefield, adding "regrettably the rules and regulations that govern domestic economies haven't really adapted at sufficient speed to the global dynamic."

■ Global trade
Australia to host WTO meet
Trade ministers from 25 countries will meet in Australia next week for an informal WTO mini-summit expected to be dogged by thousands of anti-globalization protesters. The Nov. 14-15 meeting, the first by global trade ministers since the launch of the Doha round of trade talks last year, will aim to lock in commitments to looming deadlines and to smooth the way to the next full WTO conference in Mexico. Australian authorities, who have already switched the meetings from the leafy harborside suburb of Double Bay to the more secure Sydney Olympic Park, are geared up for trouble. Anti-globalization demonstrators who have disrupted events such as this around the world in recent years have promised to march, saying the free-trade agenda promoted by rich nations does not protect the world's poor from exploitation.

■ Semiconductors
Infineon loss to narrow less
Infineon Technologies AG, Europe's second-largest semiconductor maker, narrowed its fiscal fourth-quarter loss less than analysts expected because of a tax charge. It forecast continued price pressure in coming months. The loss narrowed to 506 million euros (US$510.1 million) in the three months through September from 523 million euros a year earlier. Infineon took a charge of 275 million euros in the quarter related to deferred tax valuation. Sales gained 28 percent to 1.38 billion euros. Infineon is trying to reduce production costs for its memory chips as slack sales of personal computers and mobile phones crimp demand for chips that power those devices. Fourth-quarter results were hurt by price-related losses, the company said.

Agencies
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