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World Business Quick Take

■ Internet
Private lines get hijacked
Consumer watchdogs are warning Internet Web surfers of rogue telephone companies that are hijacking their connections. The rogue companies target surfers on pornographic or gambling Web sites, offering them "special free downloads" that replace the local internet connection with an international connection that is charged collect -- funneling vast amounts of money into foreign bank accounts. The Sao Paulo consumer agency, Procon, said the hijacking happens without the Internet surfer realizing what has happened. The scam was first discovered in August 2002 and in recent months, the number of customers complaining about foreign phone calls they supposedly never made has risen significantly, according to Procon.

■ Economy
Malaysia in a cash crunch
Malaysia, which has run up high deficits, should avoid any major spending spree under a stimulus package expected to be unveiled within the next two months to bolster its economy, analysts say. The package was originally due to be announced late March but it was postponed to early April after war broke out in Iraq and has now been put off until an "indefinite date," a government official said. He said the package has to be finetuned as the war in Iraq dragged on and the deadly severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) which sparked a global health scare took its toll on the economy. "The package was based on a short war in Iraq but fighting has entered the 18th day and with SARS in the picture, certain adjustments have to be made to sectors that will be hard-hit," he said.

■ Smoking
Fake cigarettes blasted
Anti-smoking campaigners in New Zealand have urged the government to ban the sale of replica cigarettes and cigars that blow out mock white smoke when puffed, news reports said on Sunday. Green Party Member of Parliament Sue Kedgley wants to stop imports of the Chinese-made toys being sold in a nationwide chain of discount variety stores, saying they were a potential hazard for children and glamourised smoking. "Children are impressionable," she told the Star-Times. "We are training them to become the smokers of the future. And we should be concerned children are inhaling white powder when we don't know what's in them." While some branches of the stores have reportedly stopped selling them, an importers' spokesman said they were part of a "joke range of products" intended for adults.

■ Banking
Singapore ratings stable
The ratings outlook for Singapore banks will remain stable in the medium term but downward pressure on ratings will likely increase over the longer term, US-based Moody's Investors Service said. In its report on Singapore's banking landscape, the evaluator said the island's three lenders were strong enough to deal with the current economic weakness. "Over the medium term, Moody's reports that its stable outlook for Singapore bank ratings reflects the banks' strong balance sheets, steady earnings, conservative management, and strict, but supportive, regulators," it said. "Consequently, Moody's believes that the Singapore banks are well positioned to withstand the prevailing economic sluggishness, although some moderate deterioration in asset quality is likely," it added.
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