World Business Quick Take

■ Automobiles
Nissan to unveil small car
Japanese Nissan plans to challenge the dominance of South Korean carmakers in the low end of the new-car business in the US when it begins selling the new subcompact Versa next year. "Most Japanese manufacturers gained their footholds in North America with fun, economical, high quality, affordable vehicles," Jack Collins, Nissan North America vice president of product development, said on Wednesday during a press briefing. "And though it seems like we've spent 40 years trying to move our product lineup away from those humble beginnings, history does have a way of repeating itself," Collins said, adding that more and more American motorists are thinking seriously about moving into a smaller vehicle for the first time in years.

■ Steel
Future bright for Nippon
Nippon Steel Corp, Asia's largest steelmaker, expects profits to increase next year on surging sales of high-end steel to Toyota Motor Corp. and other automakers, President Akio Mimura said. "Japanese carmakers are increasing their market share worldwide, so auto steel sales should continue to be strong," Mimura said in an interview in Seoul at the annual meeting of the International Iron and Steel Institute. "We have to increase profits under any circumstances." Nippon Steel, which is cutting output by a million tons in the fiscal year ending March, is focusing on high-end steel to bolster profit even as a glut of Chinese steel pushes down prices. Japan's industrial output rebounded in August, spurring demand for steel, while household spending climbed for the first month in four, adding to signs that the economy will expand for a fourth quarter.

■ Economy
Business confidence is up
A key survey of Japanese business confidence is expected to reinforce an upbeat outlook for the world's number two economy. The Bank of Japan's quarterly Tankan survey for September, which will be published today, is tipped to support the government's view that the Japanese economy has pulled out of a soft patch. The survey is set to offer "hard evidence for the government's assessment that the economy has emerged from a lull," said Credit Suisse First Boston economist Satoru Ogasawara. Robust economic growth and surging share prices are two factors behind the expected pick-up in corporate confidence, he said. The Tankan survey is also expected to show a slight improvement among large non-manufacturers.

■ Internet
Saudis try blocked sites
Of the estimated 2.2 million Internet users in Saudi Arabia, the majority regularly try to access forbidden or indecent material, the Saudi newspaper Arab News reported yesterday. "Of those who log on to the Internet, 92.5 percent are trying to access a website that, for one reason or another, has been blocked," said Mishaal al-Kadhi, acting general manager of the King Abdul Aziz City for Science and Technology (KACST). KACST is not only the Internet gateway for the Kingdom, but also acts as a filter for unsuitable material. The official said pornographic material was one of the main items on the city's "black list" which also includes gambling, terrorism and politics as well as anything contrary to Islamic beliefs.