Tag: business

Water companies to increase rates in April

QUEZON City, Philippines (Eagle News)- Maynilad and Manila Water Co., will increase their water rates in April. According to Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) Chief Regulator Joey Yu, the increase is due to the foreign currency differential adjustment or FCDA. https://youtu.be/vHkGp53wTSw

ADB: Asia must have spent $26 trillion on infrastructure by 2030

HONG KONG, China (AFP) — Asian nations must spend $26 trillion by 2030 on infrastructure to battle poverty, boost economic growth and fight climate change, the Asian Development Bank warned on Tuesday. In its “Meeting Asia’s infrastructure needs” report, the lender said governments in some of the poorest countries in the world should invest in everything from transport, telecommunications, power and water and sanitation. It added that despite dramatic infrastructure growth in recent decades, more […]

Asian markets start week with fresh losses

by Danny McCord Agence France-Presse HONGKONG, China (AFP) — Asian markets kicked the week off with losses Monday, with Tokyo hit by a stronger yen, as the global Trump rally shows signs of fragility before a key speech by the new president to Congress. A record 11th successive all-time high close for New York’s Dow was not enough to inspire investors who are growing worried that the recent buying — fuelled by expectations Donald Trump […]

A peek inside Qatar’s ‘gas capital of the world’

by David Harding Agence France-Presse RAS LAFFAN, QATAR (AFP) — Perched on a northern tip of Qatar, about an hour’s drive from the gleaming capital Doha and at the end of “Route 77”, stands the secretive city of Ras Laffan. Behind its closely guarded gates, Ras Laffan is home to 30,000 people, the best white truffles in Qatar, apparently, and a turtle conservation project. It is also one of the most significant industrial sites on […]

Tokyo stocks down by break on strong yen

TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Tokyo stocks lost ground Friday morning as a strong yen weighed on exporters and Wall Street had a mixed performance. The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average hit a tenth consecutive all-time high to break a 30-year record, but the S&P 500 barely rose and the tech-heavy Nasdaq declined. US stocks have been on a record run since President Donald Trump took office last month, with investors cheered in recent days by […]

HSBC profits plunge as bank navigates political storms

LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) – HSBC profits plunged last year on huge writedowns and restructuring charges, the banking titan said Tuesday, warning of uncertainty over Brexit and Donald Trump’s economic policies. The London-headquartered bank with a focus on Asia said net profit tumbled to $1.29 billion (1.22 billion euros) in 2016, down 90 percent on a year earlier. Profit before tax stood at $7.1 billion, down 62 percent after HSBC slashed the value of its […]

Amazon to create 5,000 jobs in UK

LONDON, United States (AFP) — United States tech and retail giant Amazon on Monday said it would create 5,000 British jobs this year, in a show of confidence in the United Kingdom economy ahead of Brexit. “Amazon UK today announced plans to create more than 5,000 full-time jobs this year, taking the company’s total UK workforce to over 24,000,” a statement said. “These new job opportunities are for people with all types of experience, education and […]

Tokyo stocks weaken, exports rise slower than predicted

HONGKONG, China (AFP) — Tokyo stocks fell Monday despite a strong lead from Wall Street last week, as the yen’s ongoing resilience weighed on the market and Japan’s exports rose less than predicted. Shares in Hong Kong and China both posted modest early increases with trading in Asia expected to be muted ahead of the US Presidents’ Day national holiday. Wall Street had edged up to new records Friday as consumer products stocks gained on Kraft […]

Tokyo stocks down at break on stronger yen

TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Tokyo stocks fell Thursday morning as profit-taking and a stronger yen overshadowed a fifth successive record close on Wall Street. New York’s three main indexes pressed on with their surge after figures showed US inflation hit a four-year high in January, fuelling bets on an interest rate hike soon. US equities have soared since President Donald Trump last week vowed to release details of his promised tax cut plan within two […]

US stocks end at records again, lifting global equities

NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — Wall Street stocks pushed to fresh highs for the fifth day in a row Wednesday, giving a boost to most international equity markets on continued optimism about US economic prospects. US stocks have been on a tear since last week when President Donald Trump vowed to release details of his promised tax cut plan within two to three weeks. On Wednesday, Trump reiterated that he would soon release specifics […]

Toyota recalling fuel-cell Mirai vehicles

TOKYO, Japan (Reuters) — Toyota said Wednesday it is recalling all the Mirai fuel-cell vehicles it has sold globally due to a software glitch that can shut off its hydrogen-powered system. The auto giant said it would call back about 2,800 Mirai vehicles made between November 2014 and December 2016 to repair the defect. Toyota launched Mirai — which means “future” in Japanese — in late 2014 as it looked to push further into the fast-growing […]

Toshiba warns of huge losses in US nuclear power unit

by Miwa SUZUKI Agence France-Presse TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Toshiba hinted at a possible fresh accounting scandal Tuesday as it delayed the release of financial results but warned it would lose billions of dollars in its US nuclear power unit. Its Tokyo-listed shares plunged after one of Japan’s best-known companies surprised markets by failing to release nine-month earnings at midday as scheduled. Toshiba — which was hammered in 2015 by a profit-padding scandal — said […]