Fri, Jan 22, 2010 page10

• World Business Quick Take

  • AGENCIES
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  ■EUROPE

  PMI slips in eurozone

  Heavy snow and bitter cold across the eurozone this month stunted growth in private sector business activity, for the first time in 11 months, a well-watched survey said yesterday. The purchasing managers’ index (PMI) for the 16 countries using the single currency, compiled by data and research group Markit, slipped to 53.6 points from 54.2 points last month, signaling weakened expansion. Growth was strongest in manufacturing, with its sixth monthly increase in a row, but the rate of growth in the services sector slowed for the first time after five consecutive months of expansion, albeit still above the boom-and-bust 50-point line.

  ■SOUTH KOREA

  Jobs target increases

  South Korea said yesterday it aims to create more than 250,000 new jobs this year because the employment market remains fragile despite a growing economic recovery. The figure is higher than an earlier target of 200,000, the government said in a statement after a meeting of economy-related ministries. About 890,000 people were officially listed as jobless at the end of last year. However, the government estimates the actual number at 1.82 million, including people with only temporary jobs and others who are not actively looking for work.

  ■BANKING

  BoA posts US$194m loss

  Bank of America (BoA), the largest US bank by assets, posted a loss of US$194 million in the fourth quarter of last year, but repayments of government aid boosted the loss for shareholders to US$5.2 billion. For all of last year, the bank listed a profit of US$6.3 billion, but for shareholders the results were a loss of US$2.2 billion. Morgan Stanley meanwhile reported a profit of US$617 million in the fourth quarter. For all of last year, the bank said profit was US$1.346 billion, but shareholders suffered a loss of US$907 million. Wells Fargo, posted net income of US$2.82 billion in the fourth quarter. For the full year, it had net profit of US$7.99 billion.

  ■EXCHANGES

  LSE posts 9% revenue drop

  Equities market operator the London Stock Exchange Group (LSE) yesterday reported a 9 percent fall in quarterly revenues owing to a drop in transactions amid increased competition. The LSE, which operates the London Stock Exchange and Italy’s Borsa Italiana, said total group revenue fell to £154.9 million (US$251 million) in the three months to Dec. 31 — the company’s third quarter — compared to a year earlier. “Market conditions have not been easy in the last quarter, particularly in cash equities, though the group has benefited from the breadth of its activities,” LSE chief executive Xavier Rolet said in a trading update.

  ■SOUTH KOREA

  Hynix swings to profit

  South Korea’s Hynix Semiconductor said yesterday it swung to a net profit in the fourth quarter, following a loss in the period the year earlier, in a further sign that the global chip industry is recovering from a two-year slump. Hynix, the world’s second-largest memory chip maker, reported net profit of 657 billion won (US$577 million) in the October-to-December period, against a net loss of 1.69 trillion won in the fourth quarter of 2008. It was the second straight quarter of net profits after losses for seven consecutive quarters.
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