Tag: factory

Russia hits Kyiv missile factory after flagship sunk

by Daphne ROUSSEAU Agence France Presse KYIV, Ukraine (AFP) — Russia pounded a Ukrainian rocket factory following the sinking of its Black Sea flagship, as President Volodymyr Zelensky said his allies could shorten the war by delivering the weapons he had requested. The Vizar factory, near Kyiv’s international airport, was seriously damaged in the overnight strikes, an AFP journalist saw on Friday. Russia said it had used sea-based long-range missiles to hit the plant, which […]

GM to spend $7 bn in Michigan to build electric auto capacity

NEW YORK, United States (AFP) – General Motors announced Tuesday plans to invest $7 billion in the US state of Michigan as it converts assembly plants and builds batteries for the transition to electric vehicles (EV). Calling the announcement “the largest single investment in GM history,” the auto giant said the push in its Midwestern home state would create 4,000 new jobs and retain 1,000 more positions. GM has previously projected that it will double […]

China factory activity shrinks for first time since February 2020

Chinese factory activity contracted in September for the first time since the height of its initial coronavirus outbreak in February 2020, official data showed Thursday, as it faces waves of power outages and fears for the real estate sector. The Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) — a key gauge of manufacturing activity in the world’s second-largest economy — slipped to 49.6 from 50.1 in August, the National Bureau of Statistics said. Any figure below the 50-point […]

19 killed in firecracker factory blast in India

  NEW DELHI, India (AFP) — At least 19 people were killed and dozens hurt in a blast at a firecracker factory in India, authorities said Saturday. The blast on Friday afternoon in Virudhunagar district was one of the worst such incidents in years in the southern state of Tamil Nadu. Local official R Kannan told AFP that the death toll was likely to go up in the next few hours. “So far 34 people […]

Part of Skyway gives in as huge blaze engulfs San Miguel warehouse in Pandacan, Manila

  (Eagle News) — A portion of the Skyway in Pandacan, Manila which is still under construction collapsed because of the huge blaze that engulfed a plastic factory warehouse of San Miguel Corporation on Saturday, Feb. 1. The fire started at past 10 a.m. and was placed under Task Force Bravo at 11:05 a.m. The warehouse security personnel assured that the workers inside the factory were able to go out of the premises as soon […]

China factory gate inflation dives as trade war rumbles on

BEIJING, China (AFP) — The cost of producing goods in China’s factories slowed sharply in December, a sign demand remains weak as the US trade war drags on, while consumer inflation also flagged, official data showed Thursday. The producer price index (PPI) — an important barometer of the industrial sector that measures the cost of goods at the factory gate — rose 0.9 percent on-year in December, compared with a 2.7 percent rise the previous […]

Japan’s jobless rate down, factory output up in August

TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Japan’s unemployment rate fell while factory output rose for the first time in four months in August — a sign the world’s third-largest economy is on a path of gradual recovery. The jobless rate stood at 2.4 percent in August, down slightly from 2.5 percent the previous month, the internal affairs ministry said. The figure — slightly lower than market expectations of 2.5 percent — is the first improvement in two […]

China manufacturing activity strengthens in August

BEIJING, China (AFP) — China’s factory activity ticked marginally upward in August, official data showed Friday, beating forecasts as analysts expected the trade war with the US to weigh more heavily on manufacturing. The Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI), a key gauge of factory conditions, came in at 51.3 for the month, up from 51.2 in July, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said. The number beat the 51.0 reading tipped in a Bloomberg News survey […]

Nestle to close its DR Congo factory

KINSHASA, DR Congo (AFP) — Swiss food giant Nestle announced Sunday that it would close its factory in Kinshasa, capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo, a potential market of 80 million people but one beset by poverty and political instability. “We will close our factory and offices by the end of January and continue developing our economic distribution model through third parties,” a spokeswoman for the group told AFP. The decision affects 120 people […]

China factory output rises in May but officials guarded

BEIJING, China (AFP) — Output by Chinese factories and workshops topped expectations in May, but officials warned on Wednesday of lingering “unstable and uncertain factors” at home and abroad. The reading on industrial production, a key engine of growth, comes as Beijing wrestles with huge debt and excess capacity left over from massive government-backed infrastructure spending at the height of the global financial crisis. There have been renewed concerns about the strength of the world’s […]

Japan’s factory output rises 4.0 percent in April: govt

TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Japanese factory output rose 4.0 percent in April from the previous month, official figures showed Wednesday, bolstering data indicating the world’s third-largest economy is finally seeing moderate expansion. However, the figure was slightly down on market expectations of a 4.2 percent rise and came a day after data showed consumer demand remains weak despite years of government efforts to boost spending. The positive reading comes after it factory output fell 1.9 percent […]

China factory gate inflation slows to 6.4% in April

BEIJING, China (AFP) — Prices for goods at the factory gate in China rose at a slower pace than expected in April, the government said Wednesday, as commodity prices have fallen. The producer price index (PPI) rose 6.4 percent year-on-year in April, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), slightly lower than economists’ expectations of a 6.7 percent increase in a Bloomberg News survey. It slumped following a 7.6 percent gain in March — the […]