■STOCK MARKETS
NZX not affected by quake
NZX Ltd chief executive officer Mark Weldon said the Wellington-based bourse wasn’t affected by Saturday’s earthquake in Christchurch and will open as normal today. About 10 smaller Christchurch-based companies, mainly involving retail and finance-service operations, may have been affected by the quake, Welson said in a telephone interview yesterday, without identifying them.
■AUTOMOBILES
Curb over-capacity: official
China should end preferential policies for automotive companies in order to curb over-capacity in an industry where sales jumped 55 percent last month, said Chen Bin (陳斌), a top official at China’s economic planning agency. Chen said booming auto sales were leading to blind investment in the industry, which could result in annual production capacity of more than 31 million units by 2015.
■ECONOMY
Trade deficit narrows
The US trade deficit probably narrowed in July as a slowing economy prompted Americans to buy fewer goods from abroad, economists said before a government report due this week. The gap between imports and exports decreased to US$47 billion from US$49.9 billion in June, according to the median of 60 estimates in a Bloomberg News survey ahead of the US Commerce Department’s report on Thurdsay. The deficit swelled by a record US$7.9 billion in June. Demand for overseas products may cool as American consumers and businesses curb spending in coming months, while growing foreign economies mean companies like Caterpillar Inc will see sales climb.
■INSURANCE
Investment rules relaxed
China has approved insurers to hold stakes and invest in property assets of unlisted companies, the China Insurance Regulatory Commission said yesterday in a statement on its Web site. However, insurers cannot invest in commercial property or be directly involved in real estate development, it said.
■CHINA
Operating revenues rise
Combined operating revenue at China’s 500 largest enterprises rose 6.3 percent last year, with the three top contributors coming from the energy industry, the People’s Daily said, citing an industrial rankings report. Operating revenue rose to 27.6 trillion yuan (US$4.1 trillion). Combined profits grew 25 percent to 1.5 trillion yuan last year, while combined assets increased 22 percent to 91.3 trillion yuan, the state-owned official newspaper said, citing a report by the China Enterprise Confederation and China Enterprise Directors Association.
■REAL ESTATE
New complex for Doha
Al-Futtaim, a family-owned business in the United Arab Emirates, signed an agreement with Qatar Islamic Bank and Aqar Real Estate Investment for a property project valued at 6 billion dirhams (US$1.6 billion). The venture plans to build an entertainment and retail complex in Doha, the companies said in a joint statement yesterday. The project will be located on the northern highway linking the Doha airport with the proposed Bahrain Causeway. Construction of the 433,000m² project will begin early next year and the first phase is scheduled for completion in the first quarter of 2012 and the remaining two phases by 2015, according to the statement.
TYPHOON: The storm’s path indicates a high possibility of Krathon making landfall in Pingtung County, depending on when the storm turns north, the CWA said Typhoon Krathon is strengthening and is more likely to make landfall in Taiwan, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said in a forecast released yesterday afternoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the CWA’s updated sea warning for Krathon showed that the storm was about 430km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point. It was moving in west-northwest at 9kph, with maximum sustained winds of 119kph and gusts of up to 155kph, CWA data showed. Krathon is expected to move further west before turning north tomorrow, CWA forecaster Wu Wan-hua (伍婉華) said. The CWA’s latest forecast and other countries’ projections of the storm’s path indicate a higher
SLOW-MOVING STORM: The typhoon has started moving north, but at a very slow pace, adding uncertainty to the extent of its impact on the nation Work and classes have been canceled across the nation today because of Typhoon Krathon, with residents in the south advised to brace for winds that could reach force 17 on the Beaufort scale as the Central Weather Administration (CWA) forecast that the storm would make landfall there. Force 17 wind with speeds of 56.1 to 61.2 meters per second, the highest number on the Beaufort scale, rarely occur and could cause serious damage. Krathon could be the second typhoon to land in southwestern Taiwan, following typhoon Elsie in 1996, CWA records showed. As of 8pm yesterday, the typhoon’s center was 180km
TYPHOON DAY: Taitung, Pingtung, Tainan, Chiayi, Hualien and Kaohsiung canceled work and classes today. The storm is to start moving north this afternoon The outer rim of Typhoon Krathon made landfall in Taitung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春半島) at about noon yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, adding that the eye of the storm was expected to hit land tomorrow. The CWA at 2:30pm yesterday issued a land alert for Krathon after issuing a sea alert on Sunday. It also expanded the scope of the sea alert to include waters north of Taiwan Strait, in addition to its south, from the Bashi Channel to the Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島). As of 6pm yesterday, the typhoon’s center was 160km south of
STILL DANGEROUS: The typhoon was expected to weaken, but it would still maintain its structure, with high winds and heavy rain, the weather agency said One person had died amid heavy winds and rain brought by Typhoon Krathon, while 70 were injured and two people were unaccounted for, the Central Emergency Operation Center said yesterday, while work and classes have been canceled nationwide today for the second day. The Hualien County Fire Department said that a man in his 70s had fallen to his death at about 11am on Tuesday while trimming a tree at his home in Shoufeng Township (壽豐). Meanwhile, the Yunlin County Fire Department received a report of a person falling into the sea at about 1pm on Tuesday, but had to suspend search-and-rescue
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