Wed, Jul 01, 2015 page15

• World Business Quick Take

  • Agencies
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  GERMANY

  Jobless rate remains low

  Unemployment remained at historically low levels of 6.4 percent last month as the recovery in Europe’s biggest economy remained on track, data showed yesterday. The number of people registered as unemployed fell by a seasonally adjusted 1,000 to 2.786 million, the lowest level since December 1991, the Federal Labor Office said. That was slightly fewer than expected, as analysts had been penciling in a decline of about 5,000.

  ELECTRONICS

  Sony shares plunge

  Shares in Sony Corp plunged 8.25 percent on Tuesday on dilution fears after the Japanese electronics giant announced plans to raise a total of ￥441 billion (US$3.6 billion) — more than 10 percent of the company’s market capitalization as of yesterday — through stock and bond sales. It is the first new share issuance in 26 years, the company said. The stock closed at ￥3,461.5 on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, down 8.25 percent from the previous day.

  ELECTRONICS

  Sharp in ‘selective default’

  Troubled Japanese electronics maker Sharp Corp is in “selective default,” ratings agency S&P said yesterday, the latest blow to the one-time giant as it struggles to repair a tattered balance sheet. The move comes after Sharp announced that it was issuing preferred securities to its main lenders, instead of repaying loans that were due. However, the classification was expected to be only temporary, S&P said.

  PETROLEUM

  Petrobras to cut investment

  Brazil’s state oil giant Petrobras on Monday slashed its five-year investment plan by US$77 billion — 37 percent — as it tries to recover from a massive corruption scandal. A new, leaner business plan presented by the company was also seen as reflecting today’s lower crude oil prices and other factors that are bad news for Petrobras. The cuts to the 2015-2019 plan are to reduce Petrobras’ investment spending over the period to US$130.3 billion, the company said. Most investment — 86 percent — through 2019 is to go toward exploration and production of oil. The company, mired in debt, plans business restructuring and assets sales to the tune of US$42.6 billion in 2017-2018.

  TELECOMS

  Colt to exit IT services

  Telecoms provider Colt Group SA said it would exit its IT services business to focus on its core network, and voice and data-center services divisions. The company, whose largest shareholder recently offered to take it private, said it would exit the business over the next two to three years, bearing exceptional cash costs of 45 million euros to 55 million euros (US$50.2 million to US$61.3 million) and a non-cash impairment charge of about 90 million euros. Colt said it was targeting revenue this year of between 1.50 billion euros and 1.52 billion from its core business.

  EUROPEAN UNION

  Google given extension

  Brussels has given Google Inc an extension until Aug. 17 to answer an antitrust case alleging that the tech giant abuses its search engine’s market dominance, a company spokesman said on Monday. The announcement of charges followed a five-year investigation into whether Google’s preferential use of its own shopping product in its search engine could be harmful to consumers and competitors. Google accounts for 90 percent of the online search market in Europe.
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