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World Business Quick Take

■ China
Power equipment buys up
China bought 50 percent more power equipment in the first seven months than in the whole of last year, the Financial Times reported, citing unidentified energy executives in a survey. It didn't say what sort of equipment was purchased. China bought enough power equipment from January to July to add 30 million kilowatts of generating capacity, equal to 10 percent of the country's total, the report said. China wants to build more power plants and transmission lines to meet domestic demand. General Electric Co, which aims to secure power equip-ment orders worth US$1 billion this year, has signed a US$900 million agreement this year to supply 13 gas turbines with capacity totaling 5 million kilowatts, the report said. A surge in power demand this summer caused sporadic blackouts in Shanghai and Jiangsu.

■ Trade
Japan offers concession
Japan plans to accept in principle the idea of cutting import tariffs across the board in WTO farm talks on the condition that the reduction excludes rice and some other products, a report said yesterday. Tokyo plans to convey its proposal to the US as early as this week, the Nihon Keizai Shimbun said without citing sources. Tokyo wants to maintain high tariffs on a small number of products, such as rice and pork, while agreeing to the across-the-board cuts on other items, the economic daily said. The latest round of WTO free-trade talks has made little progress since being launched in 2001 in the Qatari capital Doha. WTO ministers are to meet in Cancun, Mexico, next month to try to boost the bogged-down negotiations.

■ Publishing
Stewart losses balloon
Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia warned on Monday that its full year losses would be twice as bad as Wall Street's current estimates, as the insider dealing allegations against the company's founder continue to sully its pros-pects. Martha Stewart, who relies on her wholesome image to promote the company's magazines and television shows, has been embroiled in financial scandal for more than a year. Her company reported on Monday an 86 percent decline in profits during the second quarter, from US$6.7 million to US$931,000. The company said the slide stemmed in part from the US government's criminal case against Stewart. It cited higher public relations and legal costs, and said that advertisers were steering clear of the main magazine, Martha Stewart Living. Revenues fell 16 percent to US$65.8 million. "We believe the Martha Stewart Living core brand will continue to be under pressure until resolution of Martha Stewart's personal legal situation," said Sharon Patrick, the company's chief executive. Stewart, who stepped down as chief executive in June, will go to trial in January.

■ Travel
Air NZ to slash fares to Oz
Air New Zealand Ltd, the country's biggest airline, will slash fares by an aver-age 20 percent on routes to Australia to stave off com-petition from Virgin Blue and Emirates. The new fares, which start Oct. 29, will enable the company to compete with Qantas Air-ways Ltd, its biggest rival on the route, and Virgin Blue, which has been granted regulatory approval to begin flights this year. Virgin's arrival would boost the number of airlines operating between the two countries to 13.

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