■Euro zone
Industrial activity falls
Industrial activity in the 12-nation euro zone last month registered its steepest fall since January 2002, data showed yesterday. The region's purchasing managers' index (PMI), a measure of manufacturing operations, fell 1.1 points month-on-month to 48.4 in December, NTC Research said. The decline was the biggest in 11 months and came after the PMI had gone up over October and November. For the fourth month running the index remained below the boom-bust level of 50, indicating that the sector was still experiencing contraction.
■ Strike
Venezuela's oil choked
Leaders of Venezuela's crippling strike claimed Wednesday that since the protest was launched one month ago, only about 4.5 million barrels of oil were exported, equivalent to about six percent the November figure. The Democratic Coordinator (CD), one of the strike organizers, said only six oil tankers left the country since the beginning of the strike as compared with 240 to 260 in a regular month. The vessels were "carrying around 4.5 million barrels in total" the CD said in a statement. In November, Venezuela exported an average of about 2.8 million barrels of oil a day. The CD estimated output at 190,000 barrels a day, well short of the government's figures and only a fraction of regular output. It said daily crude production was of 145,000 barrels in western Venezuela, 25,000 in the east and 20,00 in the south.
■ Automakers
Hyundai boost sales target
South Korea's top automaking conglomerate, Hyundai Motor Group, said yesterday its sales target for this year was 65.2 trillion won (US$55.3 billion), up 15.6 percent from last year. The company said it also planned to invest 5.23 trillion won this year, up 65.5 percent over last year, with research and development expenditure seen at 2.25 trillion won, up 49 percent. Hyundai said it ranked as the nation's third largest conglomerate in terms of sales last year, after the Samsung and LG groups. Hyundai Motor alone is expected to raise its sales to 30.1 trillion won this year, up from 27.3 trillion won. Kia Motors, a subsidiary of Hyundai Motor Co, is expected to increase sales from 14.15 trillion won to 16.7 trillion won. Hyundai Motor is aiming to sell a total of 2.04 million vehicles this year, up from 1.85 million a year earlier, with exports accounting for 1.20 million units, up from 1.06 million a year earlier.
■ Labor
Workers want flexibility
Many hard-pressed British workers are starting to value flexible hours allowing them to take care of family concerns above extra cash, according to a government survey published yesterday. Almost half of the 4,000 respondents in the Department of Trade and Industry survey said they most sought flexible working hours when looking for a new job. A third said flexibility was more important than an extra UK Pound 1,000 (US$1,600) a year, with just 10 percent preferring a company car, and seven percent opting for gym membership. The research, conducted in partnership with a recruitment website, coincided with a DTI campaign to highlight new "family friendly" employment rights that will see employers encouraged to consider requests from parents of young children for a more flexible approach.
Agencies
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