Wen says Europe ...stability is in China’s interests

BEIJING (AFP) ― China’s Premier Wen Jiabao said a stable Europe was key to stability at home, in comments published Sunday, at the end of a week that saw Germany’s chancellor visit Beijing.“Firstly, our biggest export market is Europe,” Wen said in the southern city of Guangzhou on Saturday, adding that Europe was also a main source of technology for China.“Helping stability in the European market is actually helping ourselves ... We have to keep import and export policies stable.” Wen was echoi

Feb. 6, 2012

Israel OKs Asia-Europe rail bridge

JERUSALEM (AFP) ― Israel’s government on Sunday gave the green light to building the first rail link between its Mediterranean and Red Sea coasts, offering a new Asia-Europe trade route to compete with the Suez Canal.“This is a strategic decision,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told ministers at the cabinet’s weekly meeting. “In the coming decade, new (economic) powers will arise,” a statement from his office quoted him as saying. “It is within our power to create an alternative transport ro

Feb. 6, 2012

For Facebook ‘Hacker Way’ is way of life

Facebook’s billionaire CEO Mark Zuckerberg calls himself a “hacker”.For most people, that word means something malicious ― shady criminals who listen in on private voicemails, or anonymous villains who cripple websites and break into email accounts. For Facebook, though, “hacker” means something different. It’s an ideal that permeates the company’s culture. It explains the push to try new ideas (even if they fail), and to promote new products quickly (even if they’re imperfect). The hacker appro

Feb. 5, 2012

Euro-area manufacturing, services expand

European services and factory output strengthened in January, led by growth in Germany and France, as the region’s leaders sought a solution to the debt crisis. A euro-area composite index based on a survey of purchasing managers in both industries rose to 50.4 from 48.3 in December, London-based Markit Economics said in a report Friday. January’s reading is unchanged from an initial estimate on Jan. 24. A reading above 50 indicates expansion. Finance ministers of the “AAA” rated countries using

Feb. 5, 2012

Strong U.S. job market growth in Jan. spurs recovery hopes

WASHINGTON (AFP) ― U.S. businesses shifted into hiring gear in January, creating jobs at the fastest clip in nine months, official data showed amid signs the recovery from deep recession is gaining traction.The Labor Department’s keenly awaited jobs report blew past expectations, providing a welcome shot of good news for President Barack Obama’s reelection bid.The economy added 243,000 net new jobs in broad-based gains. The job growth was enough to pull down the unemployment rate to 8.3 percent,

Feb. 5, 2012

China criticizes Iran sanctions as Merkel visits

Wen said Beijing might contribute to European bailout funds but made no financial commitmentBEIJING (AP) — China’s main ruling party newspaper criticized sanctions on Iran as German Chancellor Angela Merkel met Friday with President Hu Jintao after urging Beijing to press Tehran to avoid developing nuclear weapons.Western efforts to pressure Iran with an oil embargo are “casting a shadow over the global economy,” said People’s Daily, the main Communist Party mouthpiece. It appealed to other gove

Feb. 3, 2012

Grizzlies blow out Hawks

ATLANTA (AP) ― Memphis had not won a game in Atlanta in more than six years.The Grizzlies took care of that skid in a big way. Rudy Gay scored 21 points, four other teammates were in double figures and Memphis blew out the listless Hawks 96-77 Thursday night.“It was outstanding defense from the start,” said coach Lionel Hollins, whose team came up with 13 steals. “We started executing and our defense just took over from that.”Memphis snapped a five-game losing streak at Philips Arena, winning fo

Feb. 3, 2012

American Airlines aims to cut 13,000 jobs

DALLAS (AP) ― The parent of American Airlines wants to eliminate about 13,000 jobs ― 15 percent of its workforce ― as the nation’s third-biggest airline remakes itself under bankruptcy protection.The company proposes to end its traditional pension plans, a move strongly opposed by the airline’s unions and the U.S. pension-insurance agency, and to stop paying for retiree health benefits.AMR Corp. said Wednesday that it must cut labor costs by 20 percent. It will soon begin negotiations with its t

Feb. 2, 2012

Greece, IMF expect debt deals soon

ATHENS (AP) ― Greece and the IMF said Wednesday that negotiations for landmark debt deals will be concluded in a “matter of days,’’ raising hopes that the country will dodge a disastrous default in the spring.Greece is locked in two sets of talks― one with private creditors to have them take losses on their bondholdings and the other with its international bailout rescuers to receive new loans.“We are at a crucial point in developments. In the coming days, the agreements must be completed’’ for

Feb. 2, 2012

Japan car sales rocket 40% on subsidy boost

TOKYO (AFP) -- Japanese automobile sales rocketed more than 40 percent in January after the government restored subsidies for eco-friendly vehicles.Sales of vehicles with engine sizes above 660cc stood at 263,267 in January, up 40.7 percent on the previous year, the Japan Automobile Dealers Association said.The figure includes larger vehicles such as lorries and buses as well as cars.January was the first complete month of sales after Tokyo re-introduced subsidies for eco-friendly vehicles that

Feb. 1, 2012

Amazon profit falls 57% on shipping costs, Kindle Fire

Amazon.com Inc., the world’s largest Internet retailer, missed analysts’ fourth-quarter revenue estimates and reported a 57 percent decline in profit, dragged down by shipping costs and the money-losing Kindle Fire. Net income fell to $177 million, or 38 cents a share, from $416 million, or 91 cents, a year earlier, the Seattle-based company said Tuesday in a statement. Sales rose 35 percent to $17.4 billion, compared with an estimate of $18.3 billion. Chief Executive Officer Jeff Bezos is squee

Feb. 1, 2012

Nokia Siemens to cut 2,900 jobs

Nokia Siemens Networks, the wireless-equipment venture of Nokia Oyj and Siemens AG, will cut 2,900 jobs in Germany and 1,200 in Finland as it struggles to compete with more profitable manufacturers. Nokia Siemens will concentrate German operations at five locations and close other sites including the country headquarters in Munich, the venture said in a statement Tuesday. The company employs 9,100 people at more than 75 locations in Germany, according to its website. Jobs will be cut at all but

Feb. 1, 2012

Facebook sets $5b IPO target

NEW YORK (AFP) ― Eight years after its launch, social networking giant Facebook is poised to file papers for an initial public offering seeking to raise at least $5 billion.The prospectus for an IPO could be filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission as early as Wednesday morning, according to U.S.media reports, although they stressed there was still a possibility it could be delayed.The Wall Street Journal broke the news of Facebook’s impending IPO last week, saying the Palo Alto, C

Feb. 1, 2012

Manufacturing unexpectedly grows in China

China’s manufacturing unexpectedly expanded last month on increased new orders, suggesting the world’s second-biggest economy is withstanding Europe’s debt crisis and a government-induced property slowdown at home. The purchasing managers’ index rose to 50.5 from 50.3 in December, China’s statistics bureau and logistics federation said in a statement Wednesday. That compares with a median estimate of 49.6 in a Bloomberg News survey of 17 economists. A reading above 50 indicates an expansion. The

Feb. 1, 2012

Oil market well supplied: OPEC sees

Global oil markets are “very well supplied,” the head of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries said, while Saudi Arabia, the group’s largest member, said it’s able to deal with any future shortages. OPEC, responsible for 40 percent of world oil output, is pumping about 30.6 million barrels a day, Secretary-General Abdalla El-Badri said Monday in a speech at Chatham House in London. There’s unlikely to be any disruption to shipping in the Persian Gulf, as threatened by Iranian officia

Jan. 31, 2012

WTO to hit China over export limits

World Trade Organization judges rejected China’s appeal of a ruling that found restrictions on exports of nine raw materials break global rules and give the country’s manufacturers an unfair edge over competitors. The WTO concluded on July 5 that Chinese quotas, export duties and license requirements on overseas shipments of industrial ingredients including coke, zinc and bauxite are discriminatory. The restrictions have stoked tensions between China and its trading partners, which accuse the Ch

Jan. 31, 2012