Business

Toyota blames shutdown on ‘insuffient disk space’

Car giant Toyota on Wednesday blamed a shutdown of all its factories in Japan last month on a system malfunction caused by “insufficient disk space”. The world’s top-selling automaker said the one-day stoppage on August 29 at all 14 of its domestic plants happened after servers that process parts orders broke down following a maintenance procedure. During this operation “data that had accumulated in the database was deleted and organised, and an error occurred due […]

Stocks drift higher while oil prices jump

LONDON, Sept 5, 2023 (AFP) – European stocks drifted slightly higher but dipped slightly in the US Tuesday after investors set aside data showing growth faltering in China, but oil prices jumped as Russia and Saudi Arabia extended export cuts. The dollar strengthened as bond yields rose, following some recent weakness as traders expect the Federal Reserve to pause its hiking of interest rates. The price of the main international oil contract, Brent crude, hit […]

URGENT: Brent oil jumps above $90 for first time since November

The price of Brent oil rose above $90 per barrel for the first time since November on Tuesday as Saudi Arabia and Russia announced they were extending their respective production and export cuts. The international benchmark rose 1.4 percent to reach $90.24 at 1350 GMT while West Texas Intermediate, the main US futures contract, jumped 1.9 percent to $87.16. This is a developing story… © Agence France-Presse

Airlines hunting for suspected fake engine parts

PARIS, Sept 4, 2023 (AFP) – Aircraft engine manufacturer CFM, a joint venture between GE and Safran, has alerted its clients to a supplier who may have sold non-certified parts. The engines concerned are the CFM56 used on the previous generation of the Airbus A320 and Boeing 737 aircraft. Some 34,000 CFM56 engines were manufactured but there is as yet no information as how many may have been fitted with fake parts, which Bloomberg News […]

US GDP growth in second quarter revised down to 2.1%

WASHINGTON, Aug 30, 2023 (AFP) – Economic growth in the United States was weaker than first estimated for the April to June period, the Commerce Department said Wednesday, noting downward revisions in business investment. GDP growth in the world’s biggest economy came in at 2.1 percent for the second quarter, down from the initial estimate of 2.4 percent released in July. The updated growth figure is still slightly above the pace in the first three […]

Airlines count cost of UK traffic control failure

LONDON, Aug 30, 2023 (AFP) – The worst disruption to UK air traffic control in almost a decade following a technical fault risks costing carriers around £100 million, the head of global airline body IATA estimated Wednesday. Passengers continued to be affected by cancelled flights owing to Monday’s incident, but far more planes were able to fly. “I would imagine that at an industry-level, we’ll be getting close to £100 million ($127 million) of additional […]

China warns US against ‘disastrous’ trade curbs

BEIJING, Aug 29, 2023 (AFP) – China’s premier warned US officials Tuesday that moves to “politicise” trade issues would prove “disastrous” for the global economy, state media reported. US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo is currently on a four-day bridge-building visit to China aimed at better managing tensions between the world’s two largest economies. But a meeting with Premier Li Qiang Tuesday saw the top official lay into American trade curbs against Beijing, which Washington insists […]

Toyota factories in Japan hit by massive glitch

TOKYO, Aug 29, 2023 (AFP) – Toyota said Tuesday it halted operations at 12 of its 14 factories in Japan due to a system glitch, but that it did not appear to be a cyberattack. The world’s biggest automaker refrained from discussing other details of the incident, which began Tuesday morning. “Twelve vehicle factories, affecting 25 lines, are not able to process orders for parts due to a system glitch… At this point, we believe […]

BRICS leaders to debate expanding membership at summit

JOHANNESBURG, Aug 23, 2023 (AFP) – BRICS leaders on Wednesday will debate admitting new members to their five-nation bloc as it pursues a bigger role in shaping world affairs it sees as dominated by western powers. China is seeking to rapidly grow the club of large emerging economies amid rising competition with the United States, and more than 40 nations are lining up to join. But the BRICS other major power, India, is wary of […]

Indonesia, Boeing agree deal for sale of F-15 jets

JAKARTA, Aug 22, 2023 (AFP) – Indonesia and US aircraft manufacturer Boeing have agreed a deal for the sale of two dozen F-15EX fighter jets as Southeast Asia’s biggest economy moves to modernise its fleet, Jakarta’s defence minister said Tuesday. Defence Minister Prabowo Subianto witnessed the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) committing to the sale on Monday between Indonesian airforce and Boeing officials at the company’s St Louis facility. “MoU signing commitment to […]

BRICS summit of emerging economies to begin in South Africa

JOHANNESBURG, Aug 22, 2023 (AFP) – BRICS leaders meet in South Africa on Tuesday as the loose association of major emerging economies seeks to assert its voice as a counterweight to Western dominance in global affairs. The so-called BRICS nations — Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa — represent a quarter of the global economy, and interest in joining the club has surged ahead of its three-day summit in Johannesburg. Security has been bolstered […]