Business

Samsung to invest $380 mn, add almost 1,000 jobs in US

NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — Samsung plans to invest $380 million and hire nearly 1,000 workers for a new plant in South Carolina to manufacture home appliances, the company announced Wednesday. Samsung Electronics America described it as a “state of the art” facility that starting next year will build premium home products, including washing machines, and will be staffed with craftsmen, engineers and operators. United States Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, who is leading President […]

Toshiba says deal to sell memory chip business delayed

TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Toshiba said Wednesday it has not yet reached a deal to sell its prized chip business to a consortium of United States, Japanese and South Korean investors, as the troubled conglomerate holds a shareholder meeting. The sale, reportedly worth some 2.0 trillion yen ($18 billion), is seen as crucial for the cash-strapped company to plug massive losses at its US nuclear division, Westinghouse Electric. Last week, Toshiba said it has entered […]

Merkel backs restarting TTIP talks

BERLIN, Germany (AFP) — German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Tuesday she wanted to resume talks between the European Union and the United States on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP). “I am in favor of resuming negotiations on such a free trade accord — and also resolving all the problems together,” Merkel told an economic symposium of her ruling Christian Democratic Party. Initial talks on the TTIP, which would create a huge free trade […]

China’s industrial profit growth of large enterprises maintains good momentum

CHINA (Reuters) – The industrial profit growth of large enterprises in May continued a good momentum with a year on year growth of 16.7 percent, China’s National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) announced on Tuesday. The total industrial profits of large enterprises in May reached about 626 billion Yuan (around 95 billion US dollars), increasing 16.7 percent year on year. The growth rate is 2.7 percentage points higher than in April. The equipment manufacturing industry accounted […]

Tokyo shares open higher with Yellen speech in focus

TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Tokyo shares opened higher Tuesday as the yen’s fall boosted exporters including Toyota and Panasonic, while markets awaited Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen’s speech later in the day. Tokyo’s benchmark Nikkei 225 index rose 0.46 percent, or 92.01 points, to 20,245.36 in morning trading, while the Topix index of all first-section issues gained 0.45 percent, or 7.31 points, to 1,619.52 yen. In currency markets, the dollar firmed to 111.92 yen, against […]

Great Barrier Reef a $42 billion asset ‘too big to fail’: study

  by Martin Parry Agence France Presse SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — Australia’s under-pressure Great Barrier Reef is an asset worth Aus$56 billion (US$42 billion) and as an ecosystem and economic driver is “too big to fail”, a study said Monday. The World Heritage-listed reef is the largest living structure on Earth and its economic and social value was calculated for the first time in the Deloitte Access Economics report commissioned by the Great Barrier Reef […]

Japanese airbag maker Takata files for bankruptcy

  (Reuters) — Embattled airbag maker Takata Corp on Monday (June 26) filed for bankruptcy protection in Japan and said it would seek $1.588 billion in financial aid from U.S.-based auto parts supplier Key Safety Systems (KSS). The KSS deal would help it deal with the fallout from its defective airbag inflators at the center of the global auto industry’s biggest ever recall, Takata CEO Shigehisa Takata said in a news conference in Tokyo on […]

Oil languishes near multi-month lows on glut fears as Saudi Arabia appoints new crown prince: analyst reaction

Reuters — Oil prices held near multi-month lows on Wednesday (June 21) as investors discounted evidence of strong compliance by Organization of Petroleum-Exporting Countries and non-OPEC oil producers with a deal to cut a global output. Global benchmark Brent was unchanged at $46.02 barrel at 0651 GMT after falling nearly 2 percent in the previous session to its lowest settlement since November. United States crude futures for August were trading up 4 cents at $43.55, after spending […]

Jackie Kennedy watch fetches nearly $380K in New York

NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — An engraved gold Cartier watch given to Jacqueline Kennedy and a reciprocal thank-you painting from the former first lady sold for $379,500 at auction in New York on Wednesday, Christie’s said. The Tank watch was given to Kennedy by her brother-in-law, Prince Stanislaw “Stas” Radziwill, in February 1963 to commemorate a 50-mile hike in Palm Beach championed by former president John F. Kennedy in a drive to make Americans […]

Tokyo stocks down at break, Takata dives on bankruptcy fears

TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Tokyo stocks slipped Thursday morning with troubled airbag supplier Takata diving by more than half as it appeared to be headed for bankruptcy court. The benchmark Nikkei 225 index lost 0.10 percent, or 20.54 points, to sit at 20,118.25 by the break, while the Topix index of all first-section issues edged down 0.03 percent, or 0.42 points, to 1,611.14. © Agence France-Presse

Uber CEO Kalanick resigns under pressure

by Julie CHARPENTRAT / with Rob Lever in Washington Agence France-Presse SAN FRANCISCO, United States – Uber’s embattled chief executive Travis Kalanick has resigned, yielding to pressure from investors seeking to clean up a toxic corporate culture at the fast-growing ridesharing group. Kalanick had announced an indefinite leave of absence a week earlier following the release of a report on Uber’s workplace troubles by former US attorney general Eric Holder. His departure announced late Tuesday caps […]

Toshiba enters exclusive chip sales talks with US-SKorea-Japan group

TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Toshiba said Wednesday it will hold exclusive talks with a consortium of United States, South Korean and state-backed Japanese investors to sell its prized memory chip business, as the loss-hit conglomerate scrambles to raise cash. The company needs money after taking massive losses in its US nuclear operations that have put the survival of a pillar of corporate Japan in doubt. Toshiba’s board Wednesday decided to select the consortium as a […]