Business

Japan’s Kobe Steel scandal spreads, 500 firms affected

TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Japan’s Kobe Steel admitted Friday that a snowballing falsified data scandal had affected around 500 customers, more than twice as many as initially thought. More than 30 foreign customers were affected, including Boeing, Airbus, General Motors, Tesla, German automaker Daimler and PSA of France, according to Japan’s leading Nikkei business daily. The new estimate comes as Kobe Steel’s battered stock fell almost nine percent to finish at 805 yen ($7.20), down […]

US stocks rise on strong retail sales; Europe mixed

by John BIERS Agence France Presse NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — Wall Street stocks rose Friday, with the Nasdaq inching up to a fresh record, following data showing strong US retail sales in September. Meanwhile, Europe’s major stock markets were mixed at the end of the trading session, while oil prices advanced after President Donald Trump announced he was “decertifying” the Iran nuclear deal, throwing into doubt an agreement that was expected to boost […]

China’s imports from North Korea fall as trade with world surges

  BEIJING, China (AFP) — China’s imports from North Korea fell for the seventh month in a row, official data showed Friday, after Beijing vowed to apply UN sanctions to pressure Pyongyang over its nuclear and missile tests. Speaking at a press conference, Customs administration spokesman Huang Songping said China’s imports from North Korea had dropped by almost 38 percent in September year-on-year, while exports were down 6.7 percent. China, North Korea’s main trade partner, […]

Samsung Electronics expects record $12.8bn Q3 operating profit

Samsung Electronics said Friday it expected profits to hit an all-time high in the third quarter, as booming semiconductor sales boost the South Korean IT giant. The company estimated operating profits of 14.5 trillion won ($12.8 billion) in the July-September period, a record for quarterly profit and nearly three times the 5.2 trillion won earned a year earlier. Sales are expected to have surged 29.65 percent on-year to 62 trillion won. Samsung did not announce […]

Uniqlo operator says annual profit soars to record

 TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Uniqlo’s parent company said Thursday that its annual net profit more than doubled from a year ago to a record thanks to strong sales and as a cheaper yen inflated profits. Fast Retailing’s net profit came in at 119 billion yen ($1 billion) in the fiscal year through August, with revenue up 4.2 percent at 1.86 trillion yen, it said. Asia’s biggest retailer — a rival of Zara, Gap and H&M — said sales […]

IMF sounds alert over debt in largest economies

 by Antonio Rodriguez Agence France-Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — For the first time in years the International Monetary Fund is optimistic about global economic growth. But it sees a new problem: mounting debt in the world’s largest countries. “Debt levels are increasing in G20 economies,” Tobias Adrian, who heads the IMF’s monetary and capital markets division, said Wednesday. Among private businesses in those countries, leverage is higher than before the financial crisis. And the weight of […]

Euro holds gains on Catalonia speech, Asia markets rally

HONG KONG, China (AFP) — The euro held gains Wednesday after Catalonia’s leader stepped back from the brink in a standoff with Spain over independence while Asian markets pushed higher following another record close on Wall Street. The single currency has come under strain since Catalans voted in an unofficial referendum on October 1 to break away from Madrid, fuelling fears about one of the eurozone’s biggest economies. The region’s leader Carles Puigdemont signed a […]

Japan steel scandal grows as more carmakers hit: report

TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Six of Japan’s best-known carmakers including Nissan and Honda used products from Kobe Steel, a report said Wednesday, after the firm admitted to falsifying quality data in a growing scandal. Business daily Nikkei said Mitsubishi Motors, Subaru and Mazda had also used products from Kobe Steel in their vehicles. Auto giant Toyota has already said that Kobe Steel supplied materials to one of its Japanese factories, which used them in hoods, […]

Wal-Mart lifts Dow to record; Spanish stocks slide

by John Biers Agence France-Presse NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — A strong forecast from retail behemoth Wal-Mart propelled the Dow to a fresh record Tuesday, while  the Catalan political crisis in Spain weighed on European equity markets. Wal-Mart Stores surged 4.5 percent after projecting fiscal 2019 sales would rise at or above three percent following a deeper push into e-commerce. The retail giant also announced a $20-billion share repurchase program. Wal-Mart’s gain helped lift the Dow […]

4 na local brands ng tsokolate mula Mindanao kalahok sa Int’l Chocolate Festival sa France at US

  DAVAO CITY, Davao del Sur (Eagle News) – Apat na local brands ng tsokolate mula sa Mindanao ang napabilang sa gaganaping International Chocolate Festival sa France at Estados Unidos. Ito ay ang Malagos chocolates, Nutrarich Davao Fine Table, Rosario’s Davao Artisanal Chocolates na pawang mula sa Davao City, at ang tsokolate mula sa Kablon Farms na mula naman sa South Cotabato. Ayon sa Cacao Industry Development Association of Mindanao Incorporated, magandang oportunidad ito upang maipakita sa mundo […]

President Duterte signs E.O to acquire and convert Phil Postal Savings Bank into Overseas Filipino Bank

  (Eagle News) – The bank that will cater to the needs of overseas Filipino workers promised by President Rodrigo Duterte will soon be a reality. Malacanang released on Monday, October 9, Executive Order No. 44, which approved the acquisition of Philippine Postal Savings Bank (PPSB) and its conversion into the Overseas Filipino Bank (OFB) President Rodrigo Duterte signed EO No. 44 on September 28 this year, or almost a year after the President first […]

Morocco prepares to test ‘fastest train in Africa’

RABAT, Morocco (AFP) — Engineers in Morocco are preparing to test the Arab world’s first high-speed railway this week with trains reaching 320 kilometers (200 miles) per hour, the country’s rail office said Monday. One train reached 275 kph (170 mph) on Monday along a stretch of track between the northern cities of Kenitra and Tangier, the ONCF said. “This is already the fastest train on the African continent,” said French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le […]