■BANKING
Freddie Mac struggling
Freddie Mac, the US mortgage finance giant seized by the government last year, said on Tuesday it lost US$9.9 billion in the first quarter as it requested an increase in a government bailout. The loss narrowed from US$23.9 billion in the fourth quarter of last year. With the latest loss, Freddie Mac’s conservator submitted a request to the US Treasury for an additional US$6.1 billion under a preferred stock purchase agreement included in the bailout announced last year.
■JAPAN
Trade surplus halves
Japan’s current account surplus halved in the year to March, the steepest fall on record, as demand for cars, TVs and other goods slumped amid the worst recession in decades, data showed yesterday. The surplus in the current account, the broadest measure of trade in goods and services, fell 50.2 percent in the last fiscal year to ¥12.23 trillion (US$127 billion), the fastest drop since comparable records began in 1985.
■RETAIL
Chinese sales up 14.8%
Resilient demand from Chinese shoppers helped push retail sales up 14.8 percent last month, but a paltry rise in industrial output sapped hopes for a fast recovery. Retail sales, at 934.3 billion yuan (US$136.8 billion) last month, have remained relatively firm, growing 15 percent in the first four months of the year, the National Bureau of Statistics reported. It said growth in demand was strongest for food, clothing, autos and home decoration materials. But the data released yesterday also showed industrial output climbing only 7.3 percent, lower than expected and well below the 8.3 percent growth seen in March.
■ELECTRONICS
Pioneer still in the red
Japan’s Pioneer Corp said yesterday it would spend a sixth straight year in the red as it pulls the plug on its loss-making TV business and slashes thousands of jobs. The troubled electronics maker said its net losses ballooned to ¥130.53 billion yen in the year to March, up from ¥19.04 billion the previous year. It expects to lose ¥Y83 billion this year. The company blamed the poor performance on slumping sales of car audio products, plasma displays and DVD drives.
■AUTOMOBILES
Toyota cuts production
Toyota Motor Corp said yesterday it would cut vehicle production 28 percent this year to its lowest level in seven years. The world’s largest automaker, struggling as sales fall across the globe, said it aims to produce 6.68 million vehicles this year, down from 9.24 million last year. “We expect the severe conditions to continue this year,” said Toyota spokeswoman Ryoko Nishinohara. Toyota has already said it expects the current fiscal year through March 2010 to be its worst ever financially, forecasting a net loss of ¥550 billion.
■BANKING
‘Bad banks’ plan unveiled
The German government agreed on a legal framework for so-called bad banks yesterday, government sources said. The approved scheme aims to help rid the private banks of troubled assets and rebuild confidence in the financial sector. German banks are estimated to hold more than 200 billion euros (US$272 billion) in troubled assets. The laws drafted by German Finance Minister Peer Steinbrueck enable banks to remove toxic assets from their balance sheets and assign them to specifically created entities.
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