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World Business Quick Take

■ INVESTMENT

China surpasses Japan

China became the largest foreign holder of US treasuries in September ahead of Japan, the US Treasury Department reported in figures released on Tuesday. China held US$585 billion in treasuries, while Japan held US$573.2 billion, the figures showed. In August, Japan held US$586 billions in treasuries, while China owned US$541.4 billion. The US long has relied on foreign purchases of government-issued bonds to finance its huge debt. The third-largest foreign holder is Britain, with US$228.4 billion.



■ AUTOMOBILES

Nissan expects zero profits

Nissan Motor Co expects “zero” profits in the second half of this financial year as the global economic crisis deepens, chief executive Carlos Ghosn said in an interview with the Wall Street Journal published yesterday. “We have to recognize 2009 will be one of the most challenging years for our industry and the whole economy in the last 50 years,” he told the Journal. “I don’t think anybody would be expecting peak performance.” Renault’s operating-profit margins for this year will be about 2.5 percent, well short of earlier goals, he was quoted as saying. Ghosn also heads Nissan’s French partner Renault.



■ COMPUTERS

HP expects higher earnings

Hewlett-Packard Co (HP) surprised Wall Street on Tuesday by saying its earnings will be slightly above analysts’ expectations, going against the grain as other technology bellwethers slash forecasts and post weak results in the sagging economy. Its shares climbed more than 14 percent. The California-based computer and printer maker expects earnings of US$0.84 per share and adjusted earnings of US$1.03 per share for the three months ended in October. This is slightly better than the US$1 per share, excluding items, that analysts polled by Thomson Reuters are expecting. HP forecast revenue of US$33.6 million, just ahead of analysts’ expectations of US$33.09 billion. The company plans to release full quarterly results on Monday.



■ ELECTRONICS

Panasonic consolidating

Panasonic Corp will consolidate its plasma-panel production in Japan to cut costs. It aims to save ¥4 billion (US$41 million) a year by moving production of panels for plasma TVs from a factory in Osaka to one in Amagasaki, Hyogo Prefecture, the firm said in a statement yesterday. Panasonic currently makes 120,000 units of plasma panels a month at the plant in Osaka, where it is based. The company will stop the panel-making operation at that factory next month, converting the facility to a development base for liquid-crystal-display panels and organic-electroluminescent panels.



■ GAMBLING

Sands blames China, Macau

The Chinese and Macau governments were partly to blame for Las Vegas Sands’ decision to halt work on a huge casino project, the US gaming giant’s president told the South China Morning Post yesterday. “There have been some changes in the [Chinese] central government’s attitude towards Macau,” William Weidner said. “We don’t think it’s necessarily all that prudent to put more money in [the project] until we see how that attitude works its way out.” Beijing has toughened visa policies for Chinese visitors to Macau in recent months in an effort to cool growth. The move resulted in a 10 percent drop in gaming revenues for the third quarter, Macau’s Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau said.


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