Sat, Oct 30, 2010 page10

• World Business Quick Take

  • Agencies
  • • 
    • 
    • 

  UNITED STATES

  Roubini warns on policy

  While President Barack Obama deserves credit for a stimulus package that has avoided another depression and for supporting a “growth now” rather than “austerity now” approach, his administration has failed to “anticipate what the economy will need tomorrow,” Nouriel Roubini wrote in the Financial Times. Given the likely path of fiscal policy after next week’s midterm Congressional elections, the US economy will soon experience “serious fiscal drag just when it needs a further boost,” and the administration will be left relying on the Federal Reserve’s expansionary policies, said Roubini, the New York University professor who predicted the global financial crisis. Further quantitative easing will have little effect on US growth next year, and “fiscal policy should be doing some of the lifting to prevent a double dip recession,” he wrote.

  AUTOMOBILES

  Honda profit doubles

  Japan’s Honda Motor said yesterday its net profit more than doubled to ￥135.9 billion (US$1.7 billion) for the three months ending September, from ￥54 billion a year earlier. Sales rose 9.5 percent to ￥2.25 trillion and operating profit soared to ￥163.4 billion from ￥65.5 billion for the quarter. Honda revised upward its net profit forecast for the financial year to March to ￥500 billion from the ￥455 billion projected earlier. The firm is now forecasting a full-year operating profit of ￥500 billion, up from the ￥450 billion predicted earlier, but downgraded its annual sales forecast to ￥9 trillion from its earlier estimate of ￥9.1 trillion.

  APPLIANCES

  Panasonic profit up fivefold

  Panasonic, Japan’s biggest home appliance maker, said yesterday its quarterly profit surged more than fivefold on strong consumer demand despite a strong yen and intensifying competition. Panasonic Corp said yesterday it made a profit of ￥31 billion in the three months through September, up from ￥6.1 billion the year before. Quarterly revenue rose 27 percent year-on-year to ￥2.21 trillion. Panasonic left its forecasts for this fiscal year through March unchanged at a profit of ￥85 billion on sales of ￥8.9 trillion.

  AVIATION

  BA returns to profit

  British Airways (BA) yesterday reported a net profit of ￡107 million (US$170.5 million) for the first six months of its fiscal year, its first interim profit for two years, as revenues rose and non-fuel costs fell. The impressive result, equivalent to 122 million euros, or US$170 million, compared with a net loss of ￡217 million in the six months to September last year, the airline said in a results statement. BA, which is merging with Iberia of Spain, said interim pre-tax earnings hit ￡158 million, compared with a year-earlier loss of ￡292 million.

  SPAIN

  Jobless rate below 20%

  The unemployment rate fell below 20 percent in the third quarter, its first decline since the second quarter of 2007 as the service sector created jobs, the national statistics institute said yesterday. The jobless rate dipped to 19.79 percent in the July-September period, down from 20.09 percent in the previous three months, a 13-year high and the highest level in the 16-nation eurozone, it said in a statement. Last month, the government raised its forecast for the unemployment rate for next year to 19.3 percent from a previous estimate of 18.9 percent.
• Most Popular

  • 1

    US military declines to fire adopting Marine Mast

  • 2

    Taiwan on alert over Chinese carrier

  • 3

    Taiwan ranked world's 14th richest country

  • 4

    Most willing to defend Taiwan: survey

  • 5

    Tokyo cracks down on ‘kasuhara’ amid rise in customers abusing staff