Wed, Aug 12, 2009 page10

• World Business Quick Take

  • AGENCIES
  • • 
    • 
    • 

  ■AUSTRALIA

  Rio Tinto wants evidence

  Rio Tinto Ltd said yesterday it was still unaware of any evidence to justify China’s detention of four employees on spying allegations. Rio, the world’s third-largest mining company, issued a statement yesterday welcoming news that detained Australian citizen Stern Hu (胡士泰) had received a second visit by Australian consular officials since the four were detained more than five weeks earlier. Sam Walsh, Rio Tinto’s chief executive for iron ore, said in the statement that the company remained surprised and concerned about the detentions.

  ■BANKING

  Judge needs more time

  A federal judge says he needs more time and additional details before making a decision on a US$33 million settlement between Bank of America and the Securities and Exchange Commission over executive bonuses. In a hearing in New York on Monday, US District Judge Jed Rakoff said he was “concerned that we not yet ferreted out all that the court needs to know.” The Charlotte, North Carolina-based bank had agreed to pay the fines to settle charges that it misled investors about Merrill Lynch’s plans to pay executives.

  ■JAPAN

  BOJ holds interest rate

  The Japanese central bank yesterday held its rock-bottom interest rates steady to give the world’s No. 2 economy more time to recover from its worst recession in decades. The Bank of Japan (BOJ) said Japan’s economic conditions “have stopped worsening,” but cautioned that much uncertainty remains because of the murky outlook for the global economy. “Public investment is increasing and exports and production are picking up,” the BPJ said in a statement. “On the other hand, business fixed investment is declining sharply mainly reflecting weak corporate profits.”

  ■SOUTH KOREA

  Interest rate unchanged

  South Korea’s central bank left its key interest rate unchanged at a record low yesterday for a sixth straight month and said it was too early to consider raising borrowing costs as the country emerges from its worst slowdown in over a decade. The Bank of Korea kept the benchmark seven-day repurchase rate at 2 percent at a regular monthly policy meeting. The central bank had slashed the rate six times since early October to help battle the effects of the global financial crisis. The bank’s policy committee said it will stick to its “accommodative policy stance for the time being” — indicating the key interest rate would stay low for now.

  ■LENDING

  New loans dropped in July

  China’s new loans last month dropped to less than a quarter of the level seen a month earlier, the central bank said yesterday, as banks reined in the record lending of the first half. New loans dropped sharply to 355.9 billion yuan (US$52 billion) last month from 1.53 trillion yuan in June, the central bank said in a statement. The decline met market expectations that banks would slow their lending pace after new loans surged to 7.37 trillion yuan in the first half of the year.

  ■RETAIL

  Aeon buys Mitsubishi stake

  Aeon Co, a Japanese supermarket operator, will take a controlling stake in a Mitsubishi Corp unit that operates a TV and Internet shopping business. Aeon will acquire a 55 percent stake in Digital Direct Inc at the end of this month, the company said in a faxed statement today. It did not disclose the value of the deal.
• Most Popular

  • 1

    Two dead as fans, police clash before game in Chile

  • 2

    Taiwan and the US preparing a ‘hellscape’ strategy

  • 3

    Two questioned over DPP legislator recall forgery

  • 4

    Former DPP aide detained in spy probe

  • 5

    Nazi armband protest in recall petition case draws criticism