■AUSTRALIA
Consumer confidence dips
Consumer confidence has fallen slightly this month but remains “surprisingly good” largely because of a massive government economic stimulus package, a survey released yesterday showed. The Westpac-Melbourne Institute consumer sentiment index was 85.6 points in March, down 0.2 percent month-on-month and 3.4 percent lower than a year ago. “On the face of it this is a surprisingly good result,” Westpac chief economist Bill Evans said. Evans said the government’s A$42 billion (US$27.3 billion) stimulus package, which was passed by parliament last month, appeared to have put a floor under consumer confidence.
■ELECTRONICS
Samsung to hire 5,000 grads
Samsung Group, South Korea’s largest conglomerate, yesterday said it would hire 5,500 college graduates this year despite the global economic downturn. The company originally planned to recruit 4,000 full-time employees this year, compared with 7,500 last year. But the conglomerate has not set a group-wide investment plan for this year because of concerns about the deepening global crisis.
■AVIATION
Cathay posts yearly loss
Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd racked up its first yearly loss in 10 years yesterday, citing bad bets on jet fuel costs and plummeting demand. Hong Kong’s flagship airline reported a loss for the 12 months ended Dec. 31 of about HK$8.6 billion (US$1.1 billion), the company said in a statement to the stock exchange. The loss, just slightly better than many analysts’ expectations, compared with a profit of HK$7 billion for 2007 and was the airline’s first annual red ink since the height of the Asian financial crisis in 1998. For all of last year, revenue grew by about 15 percent to more than HK$87 billion, the company said. As with a number of airlines around the world, Cathay suffered massive losses from bad bets on contracts meant to hedge against a rise in jet fuel prices during the first half of last year.
■FINANCE
HSBC to expand in China
Global banking giant HSBC said yesterday it would continue expanding its China network, already the largest of any foreign lender, despite the financial crisis. HSBC plans to boost its China outlets to around 100 from 82 at present and increase its payroll in the country by almost one-fifth to nearly 7,000 by the end of this year, according to a statement from the bank. “China is at the centre of the HSBC Group’s emerging markets strategy,” Richard Yorke, president and chief executive of HSBC China, said in the statement.
■CELLPHONES
Nokia unveils new models
Nokia Oyj, the world’s top maker of mobile phones, announced three new music phones and extended its online music store to Mexico. The 5030 music handset will have a base price of “less than 40 euros [US$51],” the Finnish company said in a statement yesterday. The 5730 XpressMusic handset will include a full slide-out keyboard and dedicated gaming keys for Nokia’s N-Gage games, at a price of 280 euros. A mid-range music phone, the 5330 XpressMusic, will have an estimated retail price of 160 euros. Nokia also announced more markets for its Music Store, which is part of its strategy to link cellphone sales with services and content to promote future purchases. The music service opened yesterday in Mexico. Portugal, Norway and South Africa will follow in coming months, Nokia said.
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