■GM food
US, Argentina may fight EU
Top US and Argentine trade officials said they held talks on the possibility of taking joint legal action against the EU for blocking imports of genetically modified food. Deputy US Trade Representative Peter Allgeier and Argentine Vice Minister of Foreign Relations Martin Redrado said the two countries shared a strong interest in making sure world markets remain open to the new biotech food products. The George W. Bush administration has been under pressure from US farmers and members of Congress to launch a WTO case against the EU for its four-year moratorium on approving imports of new biotech food and pharmaceuticals.
■ Personal wealth
McCartney richest rocker
Former Beatle Paul McCartney is at the top of the short list of rockers whose wealth has topped US$1 billion dollars, Rolling Stone magazine says. McCartney is thought to have earned some US$72.1 million last year after going on tour for the first time since 1993, the magazine says in its April 3 edition due on newsstands this weekend. Last year, he earned almost US$30 million more than the Rolling Stones, who still earned a staggering US$44 million, the magazine says. The Stones earned US$7 million dollars in one night for playing at a birthday bash for Texas multimillionaire David Bonderman. In third place was the Dave Matthews Band which last year earned US$31.3 million.
■ Bank of Japan
Nation wants a `Greenspan'
Ruling coalition officials urged Bank of Japan governor-designate Toshihiko Fukui to be the "Greenspan of Japan" yesterday and to pull out all the stops to restore health to Japan's faltering economy. Fukui's appointment was approved by the upper house of parliament yesterday morning, a day after getting the green light from the lower house. After yesterday's approval, Fukui met policy chiefs of the ruling coalition parties, who compared him to US Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan, credited with keeping the US economy rolling for much of his 15 years in office. "I told Fukui we want him to be the Greenspan of Japan," said Hidenao Nakagawa, parliament affairs chief of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party.
■ Technology
HP shares fall
Shares of Hewlett-Packard Co (HP) closed lower on Thursday, a day marked by gains in the technology sector, after the computer giant restated its operating cash flow for its recently ended first quarter. HP lowered its operating cash flow to US$647 million, 18 percent lower than the US$791 million it had previously reported, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission report filed Wednesday. The restated result doesn't change HP's total gross cash at the end of the quarter, which stood at US$13.2 billion, nor does it change HP's sales or earnings results. HP said it had erroneously classified some items as operating cash flow. Shares of HP closed at US$15.00, down US$0.57, or 4 percent, Thursday on the New York Stock Exchange. According to analysts at Merrill Lynch & Co and Buckingham Research, Hewlett-Packard management said the error was caused by a misallocation of proceeds from an investment disposition into the operating section instead of the investing section.
Agencies
RSS