■ Banking
HSBC profit up 25 percent
HSBC Holdings Plc, Europe's biggest bank by market value, said its profit for last year rose 25 percent as it set aside less money for bad loans. London-based HSBC's net income rose to US$6.24 billion, or US$0.66 a share, from US$4.99 billion, or US$0.53, a year earlier. Analysts forecast profit of US$6.37 billion, according to the average estimate of eight surveyed by Bloomberg News. The bank plans to raise its 2002 dividend 10 percent to US$0.53. "In common with the last two years, prospects for 2003 are hard to predict," the company said in a statement on Regulatory News Service. "The beginning of the year has been characterized by a high degree of economic uncertainty." The bank Friday named 21-year company veteran Stephen Green to replace Sir Keith Whitson as chief executive officer. Green will take over at the end of May.
■ US ECONOMY
Paul O'Neill to write book
Former US Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill is working on a book that will be critical of the Bush administration's handling of the US economy, Time Magazine reported, citing unnamed publishers. O'Neill, who was fired by President George W. Bush in December and replaced by former CSX Corp executive John Snow, is trying to sell a manuscript he's working on with a journalist, Time said in a press release highlighting the report. The former Treasury secretary didn't immediately respond to a telephone message left at his home seeking comment. The book is just one challenge facing Bush in winning support for his US$690 billion tax-cut plan, the centerpiece of which is a proposal to eliminate taxes investors pay on corporate dividends, the magazine said on its Web site.
■ Servers
China becomes top market
China was the No.1 market for computer servers in the Asia-Pacific region last year, but its market share of 31.5 per cent represented a drop compared to the year earlier, Dataquest reported yesterday. The 3 percent decline was attributed to a weak second quarter, Dataquest said. India, which saw a 11.3 percent increase, and other mature markets such as South Korea, with a 12.7 percent hike and Australia, with 6.3 per cent, contributed to an overall rise in the region, the industry researchers said. A relatively strong fourth quarter after three quarters of flat or marginal increases helped the regional market hit a full-year growth rate of 3.4 percent. Analysts remain cautious about prospects this year. "There have been continuous efforts towards server and systems consolidation in most of the markets to drive revenue growth," said industry analyst Vinod Nair.
■ Telecoms
Nokia faces Linux use
Nokia Oyj, the world's biggest mobile-phone maker, said the Linux operating system won't challenge the Symbian wireless system, newspaper Kauppalehti reported, citing a report by the news agency STT. The use of Linux -- a free, publicly shared system -- as a mobile-phone operating system poses legal and other problems, the report said, citing Jari Pasanen, a vice president at Nokia's research and development division. Nokia uses Linux in some of its wireless network products, the report said. Nokia and some of its biggest rivals are investors in software maker Symbian Ltd, which competes with Microsoft.
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