Thu, Jun 25, 2015 page15

• World Business Quick Take

  • Agencies
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  GERMANY

  Business confidence falls

  Business confidence this month fell to its lowest level in four months as the outlook for Europe’s biggest economy clouds over, the Ifo economic institute said yesterday. Ifo’s business climate index fell to 107.4 points this month from 108.5 points last month. That is the lowest level since February and the second month in a row that the index has fallen. Analysts had been expecting a much shallower decline.

  AUSTRALIA

  IMF encourages rate cut

  The Reserve Bank of Australia should be prepared to cut interest rates further if the nation’s economic recovery fails to meet expectations and risks to financial stability remain contained, the IMF said yesterday. “We think interest rates where they are today are broadly appropriate, however we’re implicitly suggesting an easing bias,” IMF Australian mission head James Daniel told reporters in Sydney. “We see the risks to growth as somewhat tilted to the downside.” The central bank cut rates to a record-low 2 percent last month to try to support a transition away from waning mining investment.

  MANUFACTURING

  US durable orders drop

  New orders for US manufactured durable goods fell last month, pulled lower by slumping aircraft orders, the US Department of Commerce reported on Tuesday. Orders fell 1.8 percent, widely exceeding analysts’ average estimate of a 0.5 percent decline. The decrease, the third in the last four months, followed a downwardly revised 1.5 percent decline in April. Transportation equipment orders also fell for the third time in four months, down by 6.4 percent, including a 35.3 percent plunge in civilian aircraft orders and a 6.3 percent decline in defense aircraft. Orders for motor vehicles were flat.

  LABOR

  IKEA US raising wages

  IKEA’s US division is raising the minimum wage for the second year in a row as the Swedish ready-to-assemble furniture chain looks to improve its relations with workers and reduce worker turnover. Starting on Jan. 1, IKEA’s average minimum hourly wage will increase to US$11.87, which is US$4.62 above the current US federal wage and marks a US$1.11 increase, or 10 percent, from this year’s average minimum pay. The increase will affect 32 percent of IKEA’s 10,500 store workers and will raise the average hourly wage from US$14.19 to US$15.45. The increase also covers workers in some distribution centers.

  TELECOMS

  BlackBerry Q1 disappoints

  BlackBerry Ltd reported worse-than-expected first-quarter financial results as phone sales continued their long slide, but software revenue increased as the firm turns its focus away from hardware. The Canadian company said it lost US$0.10 per share. After adjustments it lost US$0.05 per share. Revenue fell about 32 percent to US$658 million. The results fell short of Wall Street expectations, with the average estimate of 15 analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research expecting a loss of US$0.04 per share. Eleven analysts surveyed by Zacks expected US$684.5 million in revenue.

  RETAIL

  Merger announced

  Dutch retail giant Royal Ahold NV and its Belgian rival Delhaize Group yesterday announced they will merge by the middle of next year. The deal will create one of the world’s largest retail firms with a turnover of more than 54 billion euros (US$61 billion).
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