Norwegian oil strike ends: Labor Ministry

OSLO (AFP) ― Norway’s government intervened to end an offshore workers’ strike just minutes ahead of a threatened lockout at the country’s oil production sites, the Labor Ministry said Tuesday.“The strike is over,” ministry spokesman Jan Richard Kjelstrup told AFP.Jan Hodneland, a negotiator for the Norwegian Oil Industry Association employers’ group, said the government made a “responsible choice.””We are now relieved that we do not have to shut down the production on the Norwegian continental

July 10, 2012

China has second-most firms on Fortune 500

WASHINGTON (AFP) ― Two years after eclipsing Japan as the world’s second-largest economy, China on Monday stole the number-two spot on the Fortune 500 list of the biggest global companies from its Asian rival.In its annual revenue rankings, Fortune magazine said that China overtook Japan for the first time, landing 73 companies on the list compared with Japan’s 68 companies.Anglo-Dutch energy giant Royal Dutch Shell retook the top spot, knocking off U.S. retail titan Wal-Mart from a two-year rei

July 10, 2012

Juncker to remain at head of Eurogroup

BRUSSELS (AFP) ― Jean-Claude Juncker, the Luxembourg premier considered a founding father of the euro, was asked to stay on as head of the eurozone finance ministers group, an EU source said on Tuesday.“The mandate is for two and a half years but he will only serve for part of that,” another EU source told AFP.Juncker, who has held the post since 2005, was due to step down in exactly one week, on July 17. He has himself suggested remaining in the post for a further six months. His renomination w

July 10, 2012

China’s trade surplus up 43 percent

BEIJING (AFP) ― China’s trade surplus expanded by a larger-than-expected 42.9 percent year-on-year in June as demand for imports weakened in the world’s second-biggest economy, official data showed Tuesday.However the government said the export numbers had also been boosted by stronger demand in emerging markets, which helped offset stagnation in the European and Japanese economies.Exports for June were $180.21 billion, up 11.3 percent year-on-year, while imports rose 6.3 percent to reach $148.4

July 10, 2012

Shark fin off the menu for cadres in Chinese city

A Chinese city where slowing growth has spurred dozens of suicides, bankruptcies and disappearances by local businessmen barred officials from expensing shark-fin soup and high-end liquor in a bid to end lavish banquets. “Official receptions are criticized by the whole society,” the Wenzhou city Commission for Discipline Inspection said in a statement on its website July 5. “It has become a common practice to drink during lunch, to have up to eight local officials at banquets when only one or tw

July 9, 2012

Boeing hopes for year of the Max

Company aims for big sales of revamped 737 at air show, despite Europe’s woesMINNEAPOLIS (AP) ― A big air show is all about bragging rights. It’s where airplane makers announce large jet orders, dazzle customers with aerial displays and show off their latest technology. But a debt crisis in Europe could make the industry more subdued when it gathers at the Farnborough International Airshow near London this week. It’s a huge event in the aerospace world, attracting 1,400 exhibitors and aerospace

July 9, 2012

Japan current account surplus shrinks

Japan’s current account surplus was the smallest in May since at least 1985 and machinery orders fell the most in more than five years, adding to signs a slump in demand is threatening the nation’s rebound. The excess in the widest measure of the nation’s trade shrank 63 percent from a year earlier to 215.1 billion yen ($2.7 billion), the Ministry of Finance said in Tokyo Monday. The median estimate of 24 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News was for a surplus of 493.1 billion yen. Machinery ord

July 9, 2012

China’s inflation eases; room for stimulus

Wen warns of ‘huge pressure’ on economy to slow down furtherBEIJING (AP) ― China’s inflation fell to a 29-month low in June, giving Beijing more room to fight a deepening economic slowdown. Consumer prices rose 2.2 percent over a year earlier, down from May’s 3 percent, government data showed Monday. Food costs rose 3.8 percent.Lower inflation clears the way for Beijing to cut interest rates or boost spending to reverse China’s deepest slump since the 2008 global crisis with less danger of ignit

July 9, 2012

Best Buy to slash 2,400 workers

NEW YORK (AP) ― Electronics retailer Best Buy Co. is laying off 600 staffers in its Geek Squad technical support division and 1,800 other store workers as it seeks to restructure operations and improve results, the company said Friday.The cuts amount to about 1.4 percent of the company’s total staff of 167,000.Best Buy is trying to combat the “showrooming” of its stores, as consumers test out products at its stores but go home and buy them cheaper online or at discounters. Interim CEO Mike Mikan

July 8, 2012

Amazon said to plan smartphone to vie with Apple iPhone

Amazon.com Inc. is developing a smartphone that would vie with Apple Inc.’s iPhone and handheld devices that run Google Inc. ‘s Android operating system, two people with knowledge of the matter said. Foxconn International Holdings Ltd., the Chinese mobile-phone maker, is working with Amazon on the device, said one of the people, who asked not to be identified because the plans are private. Amazon is seeking to complement the smartphone strategy by acquiring patents that cover wireless technology

July 8, 2012

Yahoo, Facebook resolve patent dispute

Companies announce they have settled patent conflict and forged advertising allianceSAN FRANCISCO (AP) ― Facebook and Yahoo have agreed to settle a patent dispute, averting a potentially lengthy battle over the technology running two of the Internet’s most popular destinations. In dropping the lawsuits, the companies agreed to license their patents to each other. They are also agreeing to an advertising alliance that expands their existing partnership. The advertising alliance could help Yahoo r

July 8, 2012

U.S. jobless rate stuck at 8.2% in June

WASHINGTON (AFP) ― The United States added 80,000 jobs in June, the third month of weak jobs growth amid a sluggish economy that has kept hiring on hold, Labor Department data showed Friday.The figure was far below what is needed just to keep pace with growth in the labor force, signaling no relief in sight for an unemployment rate that has held above 8.0 percent for more than three years.The disappointing report toughened the challenge ahead for President Barack Obama, who is fighting to keep h

July 8, 2012

China vows to keep property curbs

China must “unswervingly” continue its property controls and prevent prices from rebounding, Premier Wen Jiabao said Saturday, after the central bank cut interest rates and triggered a surge in property stocks. Local governments that introduced or covered up a loosening of curbs on residential real-estate must be stopped, Wen said during a visit to Changzhou city in eastern Jiangsu province, according to the official Xinhua News Agency. Restricting speculative demand and investment in property m

July 8, 2012