Winter vegetables hit
market at high prices
Staff Correspondent
Despite substantial supply, the prices of early-harvested winter vegetables have remained high in the past week.
Prices of sugar and non-packed edible oil saw fresh increase in the week while sugar got costlier, as the millers hiked the price once again.
Visiting several kitchen markets on Friday in Nakhal Para, Mohakhali and Hatirpool, it was found that in spite of considerable supply the winter vegetables like bean, radish, cabbage, cauliflower, bottle gourd and spinach are retailed at high prices.
Vegetable sellers at Mohakhali kitchen market said that the supply of winter vegetables would increase further within a couple of weeks pushing down the prices significantly.
Ashkor Ali, a retailer, said that since the early-harvested vegetables are in the markets, prices are high and the prices would decrease at least by one third of the present price.
At Nakhal Para on Friday morning, bean was found selling between Tk 55 and 60 per kilogram while radish was sold between Tk 22 and Tk 24 per kilogram.
At Hatirpool bazaar, a pair of medium-sized cauliflower was sold for Tk 45, a piece medium-size cabbage for Tk 15 while a piece of bottle gourd sold at minimum Tk 40. A bunch of spinach weighing around 250 grams was sold for Tk 6.
Onion was retailed between Tk 38 and Tk 52 per kilogram while the price of potato was at Tk 30-33. Already in the high, prices of these storable vegetable remained unchanged over the past week.
Supply of fishes was found satisfactory. The traders said that catches of fishes from the water bodies and ponds in rural areas increased. Small deshi fishes like veda, puti and tengra were found selling per kilogram between Tk 150 and Tk 200.
Sugar became costlier by Tk 3 or Tk 4 and retailed between Tk 54 and per kilogram in the week.
Price of sugar peeked to Tk 64 and Tk 70 per kilogram two months back as an unseal increase on raw sugar prices in international market had instigated local market to instability.
Traders now say that local refiners, who rely on imported raw sugar and dominate the supplies, have started raising prices again.
The price of loose soya bean oil has also increased in the week by Tk 2 at retails. Retailers said that increased demand pushed up the price.
The prices of beef, chicken and eggs remained somewhat unchanged in the week along with rice, lentils and spices.
Cisco sees education link
vital to digital era
Bdnews24.com . Dhaka
Connectivity in education is key for Bangladesh to step in to the digital era, says a top regional official of Cisco Systems, a leading global supplier of networking equipment and network management.
In an exclusive interview with the agency, Amit Malik, vice president for Eastern India and the SAARC region, said the country needs an ‘inclusive growth’-focused objective for going fully digital.
It also needs to ensure that the rural areas have the same opportunity as their urban counterparts to access education, he added.
Education will open up opportunities for growing in any and every aspect, according to the Cisco official.
On the bottlenecks for a growing IT industry, Malik cited poor bandwidth situation of Bangladesh as the major hurdle along with the slow speed of execution of policies.
‘Also, customs clearance takes long time...it’s the highest in this region actually.’
He also highlighted the need for a rethink of the regulatory framework to open up more spectrums.
‘Till last year, IP telephony was a strict no-no, but now it’s at least open for closed user groups.’
Malik says that IP telephony is now in the centre of interest in the Bangladeshi market.
‘And the technology uses low bandwidth as well.’
Clients are asking for IP telephony with video facility to save time for the congested traffic situation of Dhaka, he added.
‘High-end video might not be possible for now, considering the bandwidth situation.’
The Bangladeshi market is, however, growing very fast, in fact ‘much faster than other parts of this region’, according to Malik.
He said that Cisco’s business grew on an average 30 per cent year-on-year over the last decade.
And potential is huge as the current government is committed towards a building a ‘digital Bangladesh’ by 2021.
Cisco considers the financial sector of Bangladesh as their key focus.
The banking industry has witnessed a drastic change in terms of automation in recent times, said Malik.
‘We have not only back-end facilities but also solutions for retail and customer experience.’
Citing an example of virtual adviser, he said that it would provide instant consultation to clients on queries through video conferencing.
‘The whole thing is now how you woo the customer with a customer experience.’
Moving on to the networking industry, Malik said that the company has now shifted solution-based approach from a hardware-based one.
‘People now-a-days are not asking to connect offices rather they are asking how it would improve productivity.’
Malik sees video through IP as the future of the industry.
There is a growing need of video over the internet and it has a lot of implications.
Security is a big area where the industry can really contribute, according to him.
Usually, CCTV footages are gone if there is any accidents like fire, earthquake or a terrorist attack. IP surveillance can help to track what happened as the footages would be available outside.
‘The technology also can send automatic alerts to law enforcers in case of emergency...the cameras even are capable to detect anything unusual; it can distinguish between a gunshot and scooter backfiring,’ said Malik.
He added that different agencies use different frequencies to communicate, which create problems in times of emergency.
‘But with IP telephony all of the stakeholders could be brought into a common platform leading to faster responses.’
Efforts on to raise
breeding of hilsa fish
Bdnews24.com . Chandpur
Around 12,000 crore Jatka will be saved for the next year if 15 per cent hilsa eggs, spawned in the seven coastal hilsa breeding zones, can be preserved, said hilsa fish researcher Anisur Rahman..
Only 16 to 18 per cent mother Hilshas were able to spawn this year while it was 38 per cent last year. Therefore, hilsa production will be less next year, he told bdnews24.com.
Still, the quantity of spawned eggs is over 200 metric tonnes this year, said Rahman, a senior scientist at Chandpur branch of Fish Research Institute.
‘Especially lots of fries were seen at Hatia and Moulvichar in Noakhali and at Charfashion in Bhola,’ he said.
A nine-member research team led by Rahman returned to Chandpur town after a field trip to the hilsa breeding zones from Oct 20 to 29.
They were working in seven breeding zones to measure the quantity of hilsa netted during the breeding season and its effect on total hilsa production.
Loads of hilsa were netted in the breeding zones, especially at Sakuchia, Hajirhat and Ramnewaj of Monpura in Bhola, ignoring the ten-day government ban from Oct 15 to 24, alleged Rahman.
‘Moreover, the full-moon appeared before the ban causing loads of mother Hilshas to be netted.
‘Furthermore, the lower level of alkaline in the water reduces the fish feed, leaving adolescent hilsa malnourished,’ Rahman pointed out.
The alkaline level is only 7 in the Meghna of Shaitnol zone while it should have been 7.5, he said.
Around 2.5 lakh metric tonnes of hilsa can be obtained in the next season in Sep-Oct by banning fishing in March-April in the hilsa sanctuaries, said Rahman.
This year the amount of hilsa production was 2.9 lakh metric tonnes.
A part of their research activities, the team is staying at Monpura to examine the amount of fries caught in the experimental nets and see how many mother Hilshas were able to spawn during the ban.
Also, they will study the characteristics of water in the breeding zones.
The seven hilsa breeding zones are Shaitnol (Chandpur), Kaliganj (Barisal), Ilishghat (Bhola), Monpura (Charfashion, Bhola), Moulvichar (Hatia, Noakhali), Ramgati (Laxmipur) and Charludhua (Laxmipur).
Three other research assistants in the hilsa research team are Md Nuruzzaman, Abdus Salam and Abdul Gafur.
Monico offers lot more
than vehicle tracking
Staff Correspondent
Monico Limited, a company established by non-resident Bangladeshis, has introduced a vehicle tracking and fleet management system called Finder, using local expertise for the first time of its kind.
Monico, a construction company, has ventured into information technology and the Finder is an offering from its IT division.
‘This product is just one of many software solutions being planned and introduced by Monico,’ said Sohel Aman, the project manager.
Established in 1985, the company introduced some new ideas in the construction industry. It made significant contribution in building infrastructure by participating in building road network.
The work done by Monico includes Sylhet-Tamabil-Jaflong road, Feni-Chittagong highway and the Chittagong Port Access road [the first toll road in Bangladesh] and the bridges like Sylhet Hazrat Shah Paran Bridge, Hatubhanga Bridge in Mirzapur and the second Shitalakhya Bridge.
Finder vehicle tracking and fleet management system is the first and the flagship product in the location based service category from the IT division of the company. The benefits of using the system include better control over the vehicle, fleet management, anti-theft utilities, tracking system, area of intense view, route selection and monitoring of the distance traveled with speed and location report.
There are systemic report facilities that tell the users whether the door is open or closed, the engine is on or off and the level of fuel or CNG. The car can be turned on or off by using sms.
Uniliver, Energypack, Popular Pharmaceuticals, Shah Cement and some other companies have started using the system,” Shah Alam said.
With country wide mapping, from Tetulia to Teknaf in one end and Shibganj to Zakiganj to the other direction, the fleet manager is able to locate the exact position of all vehicles, he said.
Other facilities of this location based service will include requesting information about the nearest business or services like ATM or restaurant, locating people, receiving alerts on traffic congestion through mobile phone.
To maintain the quality of the services and the products, managing director of the company engineer Shafiqul Alam Bhuiyan works tirelessly.
‘We want to do something for the country like creating employment and ensuring quality services and products,’ he said.
He, however, lamented that circumstances had yet not been created to stop brain drain and bring back talent Bangladeshis from abroad who would contribute a lot to the faster development of the country.
Digital ICT Fair begins Nov 7
Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha . Dhaka
The nine-day ‘Digital ICT Fair-2009’ will begin on November 7 at the Multiplan Centre at Elephant Road in the city.
Multiplan Centre Shop Owners Association is arranging the fair
with the slogan ‘Let ICT be a Tool for Changing Days’.
Minister for information and cultural affairs Abul Kalam Azad will inaugurate the fair as the chief guest.
Adviser to the prime minister Syed Modasser Ali, state minister for science and ICT Yafez Osman, vice-chancellor of Dhaka University AAMS Arefin Siddique, vice-chancellor of BRAC University Jamilur Reza Chowdhury and FBCCI president Annisul Haque will be present as special guests.
According to the organisers, about 400 shops will be set up from the fourth floor to the tenth floor on an area of about one lakh square feet at the Multiplan Centre.
Brand new PC, cloned PC, LCD monitor, mouse, keyboard, CD, speaker, DVD, CD ROM drive, calling card, internet card, mouse pad, pen drive, memory card, printer and scanner will be available at the fair at a fair price, they said.
Besides computer products, mobile phone and its accessories, MP-3, MP-4 and digital camera will also be available at the show, they added.
Other features of the fair, they said, include painting competition for children, debate and SMS and quiz competitions for students, seminar, symposium, free online ticket booking and internet browsing.
The entrance fee has been fixed at Tk 10. However, school students can visit the fair without any fee, the organizers said.
Sony stuck in the red
Agence France-Presse . Tokyo
Sony Corp. said Friday it was still losing money, hit by weak demand for televisions, cameras, and other gadgets, but it upgraded its outlook for the rest of the year.
The Japanese electronics giant posted a net loss of 26.3 billion yen (290 million dollars) for the fiscal second quarter through September, swinging into the red after a 20.8-billion-yen profit a year earlier.
It logged an operating loss of 32.6 billion yen, compared with a profit of 11.0 billion in the same period of 2008. Revenue declined 19.8 per cent year-on-year to 1.66 trillion yen.
Amid fierce price competition, the company is banking on its revamped PlayStation 3 game console and a new television line-up to drive a turnaround.
‘We are making efforts to return our game and television businesses to the black in the next fiscal year,’ said chief financial officer Nobuyuki Oneda.
The maker of Bravia flat-panel display televisions faced tough competition from South Korean rival Samsung, which Friday posted a record profit.
‘Basically we lost to Samsung in terms of the attractiveness of products. We need to admit it,’ Oneda told reporters.
Falling prices mean Sony is still losing money on its televisions, cameras and PlayStation consoles, he said.
The company is pinning hopes on its new, slimmed down version of the PlayStation 3 console, which has recently outsold rival Nintendo’s Wii in the United States and Japan.
‘The PS3’s momentum is continuing and its market penetration is accelerating,’ said Oneda.
Sony has announced new software and network services, including widely anticipated titles such as Final Fantasy 13, Gran Turismo 5, God of War 2 and Uncharted.
It also recently slashed the price of its portable PSP 3000 and released another handheld version, the PSP Go earlier this month in the US and Europe, to be followed in Japan on Sunday.
‘We see potential for a renewed focus on the game business,’ Citigroup analysts wrote in a research note.
‘The PS3 will start contributing to profits soon on strong sales of the new Slim console and high-margin proprietary game titles,’ they added.
The maker of Bravia televisions, PlayStation game consoles and Cyber-shot cameras maintained its forecast for its first back-to-back annual losses since it was listed on the stock market in 1958.
But it narrowed its loss forecast for the year to 95 billion yen from a previous projection of 120 billion.
Sony chief executive Howard Stringer is slashing 16,000 jobs and axing about 10 per cent of the group’s manufacturing plants in a bid to return to profit.
The company has had a difficult few years in the face of tough competition from rival products such as Apple’s iPod and Nintendo’s Wii. In May Sony announced its first annual loss in 14 years.
JS body for steps to expand
labour market abroad
United News of Bangladesh. Dhaka
The Parliamentary Standing Committee on foreign affairs ministry Thursday recommended taking steps to expand labour market abroad to give a boost to manpower export.
Held at Sangsad Bhaban with committee chairman Abul Hasan Mahmud Ali in the chair, the meeting discussed issues relating to recently concluded NAM summit and activities of Bangladesh missions in South Asia for expanding labour market abroad.
The meeting was informed that the Foreign Ministry is continuing its relentless efforts to improve the skills of the officials and employees of Bangladesh missions abroad alongside increasing their salaries and allowances.
The committee discussed in detail what actions can be taken against the agents involved in sending manpower illegally as well as bringing back the Bangladeshis living in various countries illegally.
The meeting was informed that complaint boxes have been installed in all Bangladesh missions to receive complaints against the unscrupulous agents to take actions against them. ‘Heads of missions are sending reports in this regard to Expatriate Welfare and Home Ministries every month.’
NBR starts tax collection
drive from upazila
United News of Bangladesh . Sylhet
National Board of Revenue chairman Nasir Uddin Ahmed on Thursday inaugurated tax collection drive at upazila level with Bianibazar in Sylhet district.
Speaking on the occasion he said Bianibazar is one of the three upazilas selected in a pilot project to expand the tax net in semi-urban areas. He expressed hoped that the project will also make people aware about the need for paying tax which is the main source of government revenue.
Dohar and Sitakunda are the two other upazilas brought under the pilot project. The project will be extended to other upazilas in phases.
The NBR chief said import duty, VAT and income tax are the three main sources of government revenue. The revenue from import duty has declined this year because of global recession. But in other sectors, revenue collection has increased. Various steps have been taken to raise the government revenue income.
The function held at the Upazila Parishad was also addressed, among others, by upazila chairman Abdul Khalique and Tax Commissioner Pratima Sarkar.
Asian markets higher as US
moves out of recession
Agence France-Presse . Hong Kong
Asian markets were given a boost Friday after data showed the US had moved out of its worst recession in decades, helping stocks to finish a torrid week on a high.
Dealers were given added confidence when Japan released upbeat jobs, spending and deflation figures.
However, large early gains were later pared back by profit-taking.
Tokyo closed 1.45 per cent higher, Hong Kong up 2.29 per cent and Sydney 1.5 per cent.
The gains brought to an end three days of heavy losses on the markets.
Fears that the opening Friday of a new board in China for small and medium-sized firms could hurt liquidity in the main market were not realised, with Shanghai adding 1.20 per cent.
US gross domestic product grew at a seasonally adjusted 3.5 per cent annual rate in the July-September period from the second quarter, the strongest in two years.
Japan said its unemployment rate had unexpectedly fallen to 5.3 per cent, while the rate of deflation had eased from the previous month and household spending rose.
The Bank of Japan later warned that the country faced three years of deflation and said it would keep interest rates at near-zero but begin to withdraw support measures introduced last year to fight the global slump.
TOKYO: Up 1.45 per cent. The Nikkei-225 climbed 143.64 points to 10,034.74.
Although there are cautious views that US GDP figures are temporarily boosted by government support measures, ‘the recovery trend itself won’t change,’ Mizuho Securities analyst Yukio Takahashi told Dow Jones Newswires.
With Japan’s fiscal year half earnings reporting season hitting full stride, several companies’ results made significant share price impressions.
Hitachi 2.1 per cent to 298 yen and NEC added 3.1 per cent to 264 yen a day after announcing dismal numbers. Market observers said most of the bad expectations had already been priced in.
Sharp rose 2.5 per cent to 991 yen after it said late Thursday it bounced back into the black in its July-September period.
HONG KONG: Up 2.29 per cent. The Hang Seng Index rose 487.88 points to 21,752.87.
SHANGHAI: Up 1.20 per cent. The Shanghai Composite Index, which covers both A and B shares, was up 35.38 points to 2,995.85.
SEOUL: Down 0.33 per cent. The KOSPI lost 5.16 points to 1,580.69.
TAIPEI: Down 0.21 per cent. The index fell 15.61 points to 7,340.08.
SINGAPORE: Up 0.71 per cent. The Straits Times Index rose 18.82 points to 2,651.13.
BANGKOK: Down 0.70 per cent. The Stock Exchange of Thailand lost 4.86 points to close at 685.24.
Investors took profits after’reports in the afternoon that our national reserve gained only 30 million dollars last week’ Kosin Sripaiboon, analyst at UOB Kay Hian Securities (Thailand) said.
Coal producer Banpu jumped 6.00 baht to close at 438.00 baht, but PTT Plc dropped 3.00 baht to 240.00, and its subsidiary PTT Exploration and Production shed 1.00 baht to 145.00.
KUALA LUMPUR: Up 0.12 per cent. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index gained 1.48 points to 1,243.23.
Among major stocks, financial firm AMMB rose 1.70 per cent to 4.73 ringgit, gaming group Genting was down 1.40 per cent to 2.75 and plantation giant IOI Corp lost 0.70 per cent to 5.36.
JAKARTA: Up 1.01 per cent. The Jakarta Composite Index gained 23.67 points at 2,367.70.
MANILA: Up 1.61 per cent. The index gained 46.17 points to 2,908.50.
WELLINGTON: Up 0.63 per cent. The NZX-50 rose 20.00 points to 3,215.62
Nigel Scott, adviser at Craigs Investment Partners, said while investors were more positive following data showing the world’s largest economy was recovering, the gains remained muted.
MUMBAI: Down 0.97 per cent. The 30-share Sensex index fell 156.44 points to 15,896.28, a near two-month-low.
European stocks pause
on US growth
Agence France Presse . London
European equities paused Friday after a global rally was sparked by news the US economy has emerged from recession, following France, Germany and Japan out of the worst downturn since the 1930s.
In late morning deals, London’s FTSE 100 index of leading shares gained 0.25 per cent while Frankfurt’s DAX 30 eased 0.43 per cent and in Paris the CAC 40 slid 0.24 per cent.
News that the US economy bounced out of recession in the third quarter drove up stock markets in Europe and New York on Thursday as relieved investors reversed Wednesday’s heavy falls.
‘Stunning GDP numbers in the US have given the markets a much-needed shot in the arm,’ said ODL Securities analyst John Murphy.
‘We now wait to see if increased confidence levels push more buyers in to the market.’
Asian stocks rallied Friday on the news and after Japan also released upbeat figures, lifting hopes for a recovery in global economies.
Tokyo won 1.45 per cent, Hong Kong soared 2.29 per cent and Sydney jumped 1.5 per cent.
Later Friday, investors will seek more guidance from data, including US personal income and spending numbers and the Chicago PMI indicator of manufacturing activity, hoping to confirm the better-than-expected Gross Domestic Product (GDP) figures.
Official data showed Thursday that the American economy grew 3.5 per cent in the third quarter—its strongest growth in two years and the first since the second quarter of 2008.
The figures, helped by multi-billion dollar stimulus measures from Washington, also beat analysts’ consensus forecasts for 3.2-per cent growth.
The news sent the US Dow Jones index 2.05 per cent higher on Thursday, its largest single jump since July and a day after recording its worst single fall in October.
The US growth figures came after three days of heavy losses caused by downbeat figures earlier in the week from the world’s biggest economy, shifting attention from a slew of forecast-beating corporate results.
The data boosted other world markets, with Sao Paulo soaring 5.9 per cent, Buenos Aires 4.09 per cent and Toronto up 2.50 per cent.
However, some analysts played down the figures, saying that Washington’s enormous stimulus measures had skewed the data.
‘Yesterday’s better-than-expected US GDP release triggered a sharp market rally that left us somewhat at a loss,’ said Citigroup analyst Michael Hart.
‘While the headline figure had been clearly (above) expectations at 3.5 per cent ... it had always been clear that temporary factors would represent strong underlying drivers.
‘In particular, auto and parts sales contributed a full per centage point to GDP which is likely to fall out of the equation in the fourth quarter.’
Hart warned that the troubled United States economy was not out of the woods just yet.
‘In other words, while the headline figure clearly heralds the end of the recession, the all-clear cannot yet be sounded.
‘What is more, today’s income and spending data could yet put another dampener on market sentiment,’ Hart added.
Analyst Dermot O’Leary at Goodbody stockbrokers in Dublin agreed that exceptional factors had boosted the US economy, adding the ‘cash-for-clunkers’ car incentive scheme accounted for a chunk of growth.
‘It is clear that the ongoing stimulus ... was a big contributor to the growth,’ he said.
‘This, of course, was what it was supposed to do. It needs to be followed by more signs that the recovery has morphed into a sustainable one. There is momentum in economic activity but those signs have not arrived just yet.’
Earlier this week, world markets had been sent spiralling downwards on a mixture of poor US consumer sentiment and an unexpected fall in new home sales.
However markets were further boosted on Friday by Japanese government figures showing unemployment fell to 5.3 per cent—beating expectations of a rise to 5.6 per cent—while household spending rose.
China’s Nasdaq-style board
off to soaring start
Agence France-Presse . Shanghai
Shares soared in a wild first day of trading on China’s long-awaited Nasdaq-style board Friday, with all 28 listed small and medium-sized firms rocketing on fevered interest from investors.
Trading in all shares on the ChiNext in the southern boomtown of Shenzhen was suspended at least once as market circuit-breakers in place to curb rampant speculation were tripped.
Chengdu Geeya Technology Co Ltd, which makes digital television decoder boxes, posted the biggest gains of the day, finishing up 209.73 per cent from its initial public offering (IPO) price at 35.0 yuan.
Anhui Anke Biotechnology (Group) Ltd. closed at 50.08 yuan, up nearly 200 per cent from its IPO price. Movie production house Huayi Brothers Media Corp. soared 147.76 per cent from its IPO price of 28.58 yuan to close at 70.81.
All shares were up at least 75 per cent from their IPO price in their debut.
‘The wild ride was expected just as it happened on the opening day of the Nasdaq,’ said Wu Dazhong, a Shenzhen-based analyst at Shenyin Wanguo Securities.
‘These companies need to find their real values on the new market—I don’t think the upward momentum will be sustained too long into the future.’
ChiNext is expected to give small- and medium-sized companies access to financing and encourage private equity firms and venture capitalists to back start-ups.
Regulators hope the new growth enterprise market (GEM) will help fuel young companies and other firms with high-growth potential in the world’s third-largest economy, following the example of Wall Street’s Nasdaq.
‘The People’s Bank of China and the entire financial system will continue to pay attention to and support the development of the ChiNext market,’ central bank governor Zhou Xiaochuan was quoted by state Xinhua news agency as saying.
But there have also been worries that the new board may divert funds from the main boards and drag down stock prices.
The Shanghai bourse closed up 1.20 per cent on Friday.
Yu Zuojie, an analyst with Shanghai Securities, said he expected calmer trading in the coming days.
‘Performance of the GEM stocks will be more diversified next week and the board is unlikely to stage another sharp rise,’ Yu told AFP.
The first 28 companies to list on the board, ranging from software to medical equipment makers, raised about 16 billion yuan (2.3 billion dollars) in their IPOs—more than double initial forecasts.
The China Securities Regulatory Commission was due to meet Monday to consider IPO applications from three more companies.
Commission chairman Shang Fulin last week cautioned investors to trade on ChiNext in a ‘rational’ way, recognising that start-up stocks have potential for strong growth but are also characterised by unstable financial results.
‘The growth enterprise market faces relatively higher risks of irrational and speculative trading and market manipulation,’ he said.
For shares that moved up or down 80 per cent on Friday, trading was suspended until the final three minutes of the session.
Two other debut-day circuit-breakers were in place, under which trading was suspended for 30 minutes if shares in a company move up or down 20 per cent from the opening price, and then another 30 minutes for a 50-per cent shift.
ChiNext has said the restrictions will help curb risks, maintain market stability and protect investors.
Neil Katkov, senior vice president for Asia at global financial consultancy Celent in Tokyo, said ChiNext could have a troubled start, but predicted success in the long run.
‘In the short run, the venture board is going to be a bumpy ride—good for traders that thrive on volatility, but scary for buy and hold investors,’ Katkov said.
‘In the long run, the fundamentals of China’s growth economy mean the exchange stands a good chance of fulfilling its stated purpose of driving the development of new economy sectors such as infotech and biotechnology.’
Chevron profit hit by oil,
refinery weakness
Reuters/Bdnews24.com . New York
Chevron Corp posted a 51 per cent drop in quarterly profit on Friday, the latest oil giant to be hit by the steep decline in oil and natural gas prices and the anemic margins for refineries.
Chevron, the second-largest US oil company behind Exxon Mobil, offset part of the drop in energy prices by increasing its oil output and cutting costs during the quarter, helping it beat analysts profit forecasts.
‘This is the best set of results from Chevron for a long time, and we think the stock will react favorably, especially after [Exxon’s] disappointing results from yesterday,’ Credit Suisse analysts said in a note to investors.
On Thursday, Exxon and Royal Dutch Shell Plc dashed hopes for an imminent turnaround for the oil industry, saying a sluggish economic recovery was weighing on energy demand and prices.
Third-quarter net profit at Chevron fell to $3.83 billion, or $1.92 per share, from $7.89 billion, or $3.85 per share, in the same quarter a year before.
Excluding $400 million gains from asset sales and other items, Chevron posted earnings per share of $1.72 and topped the $1.47 per share that analysts had forecast, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
However, revenues fell 41 per cent to $46.6 billion, slightly below the $47 billion analysts had forecast.
Chevron’s shares were down 0.7 per cent at $77.38 in early trade, in line with weakness in the sector as US oil prices dipped.
Chevron’s earnings from its oil production arm fell 41 per cent as an increase in output helped reduce the impact from the drop in oil prices, which reached a record in the year-ago period.
Oil and gas output rose nearly 11 per cent from a year earlier to 2.70 million oil-equivalent barrels per day, boosted by the start-up of its Blind Faith and Tahiti fields in the Gulf of Mexico and the Agbami field in Nigeria and an expansion at Tengiz in Kazakhstan.
Dollar falls in Asia
Agence France-Presse . Tokyo
The dollar sank against other currencies in Asian trade Friday due to rising regional stock markets and signs of US economic improvement that boosted investor risk appetite, dealers said.
The dollar was at 91.02 yen in Tokyo afternoon trade, down from 91.42 in New York late Thursday. The euro firmed to 1.4845 dollars from 1.4833 while falling to 135.28 yen after 135.64.
The greenback stumbled against the euro on Thursday after government data showed the US economy had exited from recession, increasing demand for riskier assets such as the European currency.
The dollar also lost ground due to selling by Japanese exporters, dealers said.
‘Regional share markets are doing well today, prompting markets to sell the yen and the dollar’ against riskier currencies that pay higher interest, said Osao Iizuka, forex trading head at Sumitomo Trust and Banking.
Tokyo’s benchmark Nikkei-225 index ended 1.45 per cent higher Friday.
While further euro gains are possible, the pace would be gradual at best, Iizuka said.
‘If it nears the 1.5-dollar mark, European authorities would likely grumble about the euro’s strength’ to discourage aggressive buying, he told Dow Jones Newswires.
US economic output grew at a seasonally adjusted 3.5 per cent annual rate in the July-September period from the second quarter, the strongest growth in two years.
That restored confidence in a US and global economic recovery as investors switched funds into commodities from the ‘safe haven’ yen and dollar, NAB Capital strategist John Kyriakopoulos said.
The dollar had gained in recent days on worries about whether a recovery in the US economy was sustainable.
Investors gave a muted response to data showing Japan’s unemployment rate fell to a four-month low of 5.3 per cent in September and a Bank of Japan statement that it would end some of its emergency stimulus measures at the end of the year while maintaining its key interest rate at 0.1 per cent.
The Bank also said Japan’s economy faces three years of deflation with consumer prices set to keep falling until at least the financial year to March 2012.
In regional Asian trade, the dollar fell to 1,182.20 South Korean won from 1,198.95 a day earlier, to 1.3957 Singapore dollars from 1.4029 and to 9,515.00 Indonesian rupiah from 9,695.00.
Shell to sell refineries
to India’s Essar
Agence France-Presse . London
British energy giant Royal Dutch Shell is in ‘exclusive’ talks to sell three European refineries to Indian conglomerate Essar, a company spokesman told AFP.
The spokesman said that the assets comprised Britain’s Stanlow refinery in Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, and two German facilities in Hamburg and Heide.
In addition, he added that Shell was still seeking to sell its Montreal East refinery in Canada, as well as New Zealand downstream operations.
Shell is looking to save cash and slash costs as it fights back against a global economic downturn that has slashed energy demand and oil prices.
On Thursday, Shell had revealed a 62-per cent net profit slump in the third quarter, blaming weak oil prices and warning over the gloomy outlook.
EU leaders clear major
hurdle to reform treaty
Agence France-Presse . Brussels
European Union leaders on Thursday cleared a major obstacle holding up the massive Lisbon reform treaty, paving the way for a new-look EU with its first-ever president.
At talks in Brussels, the leaders approved a proposal to satisfy a last-minute demand by the deeply eurosceptic Czech President Vaclav Klaus for his country to win an opt-out from the EU’s charter of fundamental rights.
‘I am happy to say that the European Council this evening has been able to take a decision and agree on what has been asked for by the Czech government and the Czech president,’ said Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt.
‘The road to ratification stands open,’ said Reinfeldt, whose country holds the EU’s rotating presidency, adding that the compromise will have no impact on the Czech Republic’s neighbours.
The Czech Republic is the only one of the 27 EU nations that has not ratified the treaty.
‘We have moved the last political obstacle to ratification,’ said European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, after a summit working dinner.
Klaus angered his EU partners when he sought an opt-out from the treaty three weeks ago, after Prague’s parliament had already ratified it, in what his critics took as a fresh attempt to delay its adoption.
The move was to ensure the treaty will not allow ethnic Germans forced out of the former Czechoslovakia after World War II for Nazi collaboration to reclaim their property.
According to a European diplomat, the opt-out follows the same form as that accorded to Britain and Poland, whereby a protocol will be tacked on to a future EU treaty, probably when a new country joins.
The last technical obstacle remains a court appeal against the treaty by a group of Czech parliamentarians, many from the party Klaus founded. The Czech Constitutional Court is set to rule on it on November 3.
Czech Prime Minister Jan Fischer, who attended the summit, welcomed the agreement and said it paved the way for ratification in his country once the court has handed down its verdict.
‘There will be nothing to prevent a fast completion of the ratification,’ he said. ‘The Czech Republic will ratify the treaty so that it could take effect by the end of the year.’
A French diplomat, meanwhile, said the leaders would ‘reaffirm their determination to the see the Lisbon Treaty take effect by the end of the year,’ in a post-summit statement.
With the Czech problem out of the way, attention has also turned to candidates to become the first EU president, with former British premier Tony Blair a front-runner, along with Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker.
‘We Britain, are supporting Tony Blair,’ British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said.
While no decisions on the new top job are expected, the leaders could reveal their level of ambition for the post if Blair, a charismatic and savvy orator, is dropped for a lesser light playing a more administrative role.
Samsung Electronics posts
record net profit
Agence France-Presse . Seoul
South Korea’s Samsung Electronics Friday announced a record quarterly net profit as demand for its flat-panel televisions, mobile phones and chips rose in an improving global economy.
The country’s biggest company said net profit more than tripled in the third quarter to 3.72 trillion won (3.13 billion dollars), from 1.22 trillion won in the same period last year.
Sales on a parent-level basis rose 29 per cent year-on-year to 24.86 trillion won from 19.26 trillion a year earlier, while operating profit rose to 2.767 trillion from 1.023 trillion.
Samsung is the world’s biggest maker of computer memory chips and flat-screen televisions, and the second largest mobile phone manufacturer behind Finland’s Nokia.
Vice president Robert Yi forecast a solid fourth quarter supported by seasonal demand for consumer electronics, but said the won’s rise and increased marketing expenses may lead to a quarter-on-quarter decline in profit.
‘Samsung has made great progress in strengthening its market leadership throughout 2009, and we believe the outlook is positive for further growth as the global economic recovery continues into 2010,’ he said in a statement.
On a consolidated basis including overseas subsidiaries, operating profit for July-September was 4.23 trillion won compared to 1.48 trillion. Sales were worth 35.87 trillion won compared with 30.27 trillion a year earlier.
Analysts said the outstanding performance would not be sustained in the current quarter because the firm normally spends more on marketing in October-December.
The won’s rise on currency markets also means that its exports would be less competitive in price terms than foreign competitors, they said.
‘The chip sector will likely remain strong in the fourth quarter, but falling LCD panel prices and higher marketing costs on handsets and TVs on top of a drop in the dollar-won exchange rate will narrow operating profit,’ said Seo Won-Seok, an analyst at NH Investment & Securities.
Samsung, however, said a weak dollar would not have a significant impact since it accounts for only 50 per cent of its exchange position.
Stimulus plan created one
million jobs: US officials
Agence France-Presse . Washington
New data provides the first confirmation that President Barack Obama’s economic stimulus plan has so far saved or created more than one million jobs, administration officials said Friday.
The figures show 650,000 jobs were directly saved or created up until September 30. Since the survey data only accounts for half the spending during that time, officials say the true figure of jobs created is over a million.
Opposition Republicans however accused the president’s team of fudging the facts and concocting a ‘fantasy world’ to disguise the failure of the stimulus plan, passed in the first months of Obama’s presidency.
Obama has vowed that the economic recovery package would save or create 3.5 million jobs over the next two years.
The statistics were provided by tens of thousands of state and local governments, private firms and universities and detail how a portion of the 787 billion rescue package is being spent up until September 30.
Unemployment remains a key hurdle to sustained recovery, with latest monthly figures in September pushing the jobless rate to a new 26-year high of 9.8 per cent with job losses accelerating to 263,000.
Friday’s report came a day after government data showed that the US economy had emerged from the deepest recession in decades, but with the White House battling crushing unemployment of just under 10 per cent.
The figures ‘confirm government and private forecaster’s estimates that overall Recovery Act spending has created and saved at least one million jobs,’ an Obama administration official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The numbers apply to jobs directly created with Recovery Act funds, but officials say more jobs are also created indirectly, for instance in the retail sector, when these people spend their wages.
The official release of the figures ignited a new row between the White House and its political foes, with Republicans accusing the Obama team of making up job figures ‘out of thin air.’
‘What is quite certain is that since the stimulus passed in February, over 2.6 million American jobs have been lost,’ the Republican Party said in a statement Friday.
‘The Obama administration is either living in a fantasy world or using these reports to have a public argument with the facts.
For the Republicans, ‘it is clear that President Obama’s stimulus has failed our economy and the American people,’ the statement said.
The government said Thursday that after a year of contraction, the US economy grew at a seasonally adjusted annualized 3.5 per cent in the third quarter.
Asia’s tech giants see
signs of revival
Agence France-Presse . Tokyo
Upbeat earnings results from a trio of Asian high-tech titans raised hopes Friday that the battered industry is on the mend after a worldwide plunge in demand for electronics due to the global recession.
Japan’s Panasonic and Toshiba returned to profit in the most recent quarter while South Korea’s Samsung Electronics posted record earnings for the three months to September.
Sony Corp. fared worse, however, remaining in the red in the most recent quarter in the face of weak demand for its electronics and fierce competition from Samsung.
‘Basically we lost to Samsung in terms of the attractiveness of products. We need to admit it,’ said chief financial officer Nobuyuki Oneda.
Sony maintained its forecast for its first back-to-back annual losses since it was listed on the stock market in 1958, but it narrowed its loss forecast for the year to 95 billion yen from a previous projection of 120 billion.
‘In general, Japanese electronics makers are on course to a recovery after hitting bottom at the end of the previous fiscal year,’ said Hiroshi Sakai, chief economist at SMBC Friend Research Center.
‘But the crucial issue is the year-end shopping season, which will have big impact on their earnings for the fiscal year,’ he added.
Samsung Electronics said its net profit more than tripled in the third quarter to 3.72 trillion won (3.13 billion dollars) as demand for flat-panel televisions, mobile phones and chips rose in an improving global economy.
Vice president Robert Yi forecast a solid fourth quarter supported by seasonal demand for consumer electronics, but said the won’s rise and increased marketing expenses may lead to a quarter-on-quarter decline in profit.
‘Samsung has made great progress in strengthening its market leadership throughout 2009, and we believe the outlook is positive for further growth as the global economic recovery continues into 2010,’ he said in a statement.
Panasonic posted a net profit of 6.1 billion yen (67 million dollars) in the July-September quarter and narrowed its annual loss forecast to 140 billion yen from 195 billion yen.
‘Sales fell from a year earlier in all the regions of the world, but the performance is improving steadily,’ said chief financial officer Makoto Uenoyama.
Toshiba logged a 94 million yen net profit for the July-September quarter, returning to the black after a year-earlier loss of 26.9 billion yen.
Sony posted a net loss of 26.3 billion yen for the fiscal second quarter through September, swinging into the red after a 20.8-billion-yen profit a year earlier.
Japan’s high-tech giants have been badly hurt by the global economic slowdown, which bettered demand for their products and sent the yen soaring, reducing the value of their earnings from overseas markets.
Sony chief executive Howard Stringer is slashing 16,000 jobs and axing about 10 per cent of the group’s manufacturing plants in a bid to return to profit.
The company has had a difficult few years in the face of tough competition from rival products such as Apple’s iPod and Nintendo’s Wii. In May Sony announced its first annual loss in 14 years.
‘We are making efforts to turn our game and television businesses back to black in the next fiscal year,’ Oneda told reporters.
IMF warns US of job gap
Agence France-Presse . Rocca Dipapa, Italy
The US economy’s return to growth is ‘good news,’ IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn said Friday, while predicting that unemployment will continue to rise for up to a year.
‘Growth is coming back, but the delay between growth resuming and unemployment decreasing is something between 10 and 12 months depending on the country,’ Strauss-Kahn said at the International Labour Festival in Rocca di Papa, southeast of Rome.
The US economy pulled out of recession in the third quarter, when output grew at a seasonally adjusted 3.5 per cent annual rate.
The strongest growth in two years has boosted confidence in a US and global economic recovery.
CORPORATE NEWS
BFC opens Bailey Road outlet
Business Desk
The seventh outlet of Best Fried Chicken has recently been introduced at the capital’s Baily Road.
Nutritionist Siddika Kabir and the owner of BFC, Anisur Rahman Sinha, formally inaugurated the new branch at 31/1 (ground floor) Shiddheswari Circular Road.
Like other branches in Gulshan, Dhanmondi and Uttara, people at this branch too can enjoy tasteful food items like crispy fried chicken, chicken cheese burger, beef cheese burger, hot wings, chicken nuggets, special rice combo, chicken strips, imported French fries, sweet corn and American soft ice-cream.
Rupayan signs deal with United
Business Desk
A signing ceremony has recently been held between Rupayan Group and United Group regarding a project named ‘Rupayan Silver Beach-Cox’s Bazar’, which will have luxury studio-type apartments and holiday resort.
The proposed project will be constructed on 13.5 bigha land in the seaside town of Cox’s Bazar.
The chairman of Rupayan Group, LA Mukul, the managing director of Rupayan Housing Estate Limited, Sadat Hossain Salim, and the chairman of United Group, Hasan Mahmood Raja, and the managing director, AK Azad, were present during the signing ceremony,
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