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World Business Quick Take

■MINING

Anglo American profit falls

Global mining giant Anglo American said yesterday its first-half net profit fell 30.6 percent as a result of weak commodity prices arising from the worldwide economic downturn. Net earnings dived to US$2.97 billion in the six months to June, compared with US$4.28 billion in the same period last year, Anglo said in a results statement. Revenues sank 37.9 percent to US$11.13 billion. The group said it has already shed 15,400 of the 19,000 jobs it announced would go this year. “As expected, the market environment has been challenging in the first half of this year and Anglo American’s performance was impacted by the sharp declines in commodity prices against the prior year and anticipated reductions in volumes,” said chief executive Cynthia Carroll.



■BANKING

MUFG profit soars

Japan’s biggest bank Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG) said yesterday its net profit soared 48.3 percent in the fiscal first quarter from a year earlier to ¥75.94 billion (US$800 million). The company, which owns a chunk of troubled Wall Street titan Morgan Stanley, returned to profit after ending the last financial year to March ¥256.95 billion in the red. For this year it maintained its forecast for a profit of ¥300 billion.



■TIRES

Michelin posts loss

French tire maker Michelin yesterday posted a net loss of 122 million euros (US$172 million) in the first half as car and truckmakers slashed production and as the company incurred costs for restructuring. The loss compared to net profit of 430 million euros a year earlier. Revenues fell 13.4 percent to 7.13 billion euros. Chief executive officer Michel Rollier said Michelin has introduced short-time working hours in several countries to deal with the downturn in sales. He said inventories have returned to “more normal levels” but “not to the extent that we can talk about a real upturn.” Michelin said markets for car and light truck tires showed signs of stabilizing in the second quarter, particularly in countries where governments introduced “cash-for-clunkers” schemes.



■ENERGY

Russia working on pipeline

Russia yesterday started construction of a major gas pipeline supplying its Pacific Ocean port city of Vladivostok, which could eventually be used to feed exports of gas to Japan. The pipeline is due to be completed before Vladivostok hosts the APEC summit in 2012, Russia’s state-controlled gas giant Gazprom said in a statement announcing the start of construction. “The priority for gas in East Siberia and the Far East is above all to serve the domestic market,” Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said at the inauguration ceremony. However, Gazprom has said the pipeline could eventually be used to feed exports of gas to East Asian countries, including energy-hungry Japan.



■EMPLOYMENT

Eurozone jobless rate rises

The unemployment rate in the 16 nations using the euro single currency rose slightly in June over one year but consumer prices fell a record 0.6 percent, EU data showed yesterday. Seasonally adjusted unemployment stood at 9.4 percent, up from 9.3 percent in May, the EU’s Eurostat data agency said. The figure stood at 7.5 percent 12 months ago. It meant that the number of people out of work rose by 158,000 over the month, to bring the total number of job seekers in the single currency bloc to 14.9 million.


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