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World Business Quick Take

■BANKING

Nomura to double US staff

Japan’s Nomura Holdings plans to roughly double its US-based staff to 1,200 over the next six months, a source close to the company said yesterday, as the brokerage giant expands its operations there. Nomura, which last year snapped up failed US bank Lehman Brothers’ assets in Asia, Europe and the Middle East, said this week it aimed to raise ¥432.8 billion (US$4.9 billion) to beef up its global businesses. Nomura declined to confirm the planned hirings.



■ELECTRONICS

Japanese readying 3D TVs

Japan’s big name electronic manufacturers are readying flat-screen TVs that can show high-definition movies and video games in 3D for launch next year. At the country’s biggest consumer electronics show that opened yesterday just outside of Tokyo all the major makers displayed 3D prototypes. Sony Corp and Panasonic Corp said they would bring their first models to market next year. The companies are plowing ahead even before there is much content available, with corporate spokesmen saying only that preparation is under way.



■BANKING

French bank to raise capital

French bank Societe Generale said yesterday that it would raise capital by 4.8 billion euros (US$7.1 billion) to pay back state aid it had received to help it through the financial crisis. The government had provided Societe Generale with 3.4 billion euros, part of nearly 20 billion euros loaned to French banks with interest to keep lending from drying up. Its capital increase will also “enable Societe Generale to seize potential external growth opportunities,” the bank said.



■AVIATION

No foreign money for JAL

Japan Airlines Corp (JAL) has put on hold its plan to seek a capital tie-up with a foreign carrier to concentrate on other restructuring measures, a report said. JAL, which is seeking a government bailout to keep flying, hopes to resume negotiations with US carriers Delta Air Lines and American Airlines after drawing up a turnaround plan, Kyodo News reported late on Monday. Asia’s largest airline decided to give priority to other restructuring measures such as cutting jobs and unprofitable routes, it quoted unnamed sources as saying.



■AUTOMOBILES

Bosch may post historic loss

The world’s leading auto parts maker, Bosch, could lose up to 3 billion euros this year, its first loss since World War II, a press report said yesterday. Bosch had posted a net profit of 372 million euros last year, which was already a drop of 87 percent from the previous year. A spokesman for the German group declined to comment on the report in the business daily Handelsblatt, terming it “market speculation.”



■RETAILING

Tesco profits rise

Britain’s biggest retailer Tesco said yesterday that net profits rose 1.3 percent in the first half of its financial year, boosted by acquisitions, and added it was well placed for economic recovery. Profits after tax advanced to £1.027 billion (US$1.65 billion) in the six months to Aug. 29, which compared with £1.014 billion in the same period last year, Tesco said in a statement. Worldwide group revenues meanwhile swelled by 9.3 percent to £27.8 billion in the reporting period, during which Tesco created 6,500 jobs despite the global economic downturn.
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