Business Economy

Middle East Will Power Planes With Rolls-Royce Engines

admin — Thu, 25 Dec 2008 19:16:13 -0800

Etihad Airways, the main airline of Aby Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, announced that it will sign a $575 million deal with Rolls-Royce to acquire and maintain 8 engines, which will be used in Airbus 330, a commercial passenger aircraft with large capacity and wide body. The medium-to-long-range aircraft is due for delivery between 2009 and 2011.

The Abu Dhabi-based company has already chosen engines, produced by Rolls-Royce, to power 16 Airbus 330 aircrafts and 34 other Airbus planes. It is worth mentioning that the deal includes long-term "Total Care" maintenance agreements, which would keep Rolls-Royce's sales flowing for the next 15-20 years.

Yahoo! BuzzShares of the engine maker registered a 2.2 percent increase, to reach 321.25p ($4.76), in London. At the same time the stock of Airbus' parent, European Aeronautic Defense and Space, registered a 2.1 percent increase to reach 11.52 euros ($16.11), in Paris. The shares of Thales, a world leader in Mission-critical information systems for the Aerospace, Defense and Security markets, increased up to 1.7 percent, to reach a price of 29.74 euros (or approximately $41.59) in Paris.

Unemployment in China – myth or reality?

admin — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 18:16:28 -0800

The slowing economy of China has led factories to incise jobs, and there are rising fears that the enlargement ranks of the unemployed might take to the streets and interrupt China’s economic miracle. To evaluate such risks one must consider how high unemployment might rise.

The problem is that both the level and trend of China’s official jobless figures are pointless. Until the 1990s, the government guaranteed full employment by providing every worker with an “iron rice bowl”—a job for life. But when towering losses at state-owned firms forced the government to lay off about one-third of all state employees, the official unemployment rate rose only slightly.

Another fault is that the official unemployment statistics cover only people who are registered as urban dwellers.

The US Housing Market Holds Up

admin — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 08:44:19 -0800

The US housing market and its crash on the economy has caused serious conjectures and dynamic investigation in the last few years. The probability to have serious effects on the country's economy is becoming more and more evident.

The rising interest rates and home prices directly influence the housing market of the US.

An eventual report reveals that the middle price of new homes has fallen about 3% since January, 2006. The existing home records were 39% higher than they were one year ago and the sales were down by more than 10 percent. It was also forecasted that the national median price of housing will probably go down by about 30% in the approaching years.

The head economist of the National Association of Realtors, David Lereah predicts that the home prices would decrease by 5% on a national scale.

High – quality Chinese goods thanks to Western demand

admin — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 15:33:28 -0800

The shelves of Chinese shops contain the usual variety of toys, clothing, appliances and cookware. But, in comparison to the past months the quality of many goods has improved. In part, it happened due to the scandals over toxic paint and poisoned milk; all these events have brought check up from inspectors. But also all this is happening due to the falling demand for Chinese goods from different countries, which has given China’s manufacturers and local administration a big motivation to work around the country’s alarming export-promotion policies and to sell at home.

Chinese producers are conscious that they function in one of the few large markets that are still showing a pulse.

Bailout of the auto industry

admin — Sat, 20 Dec 2008 07:38:11 -0800

President Bush ordered an emergency bailout of the U.S. auto industry, offering $17.4 billion in rescue loans and demanding tough concessions from the deeply troubled carmakers and their workers. Detroit's Big Three cheered the action and vowed to rebuild their once-mighty industry, though they acknowledged the road would be anything but smooth as they fight their way back from the brink of bankruptcy.

The autoworkers union complained the deal was too harsh on its members, while Bush's fellow Republicans in Congress said it was simply bad business to bail out yet another big industry.

Bush, who signed the massive $700 billion rescue for financial institutions only this fall, said he was reluctant to approve yet another government bailout of private business. But he said that allowing the massive auto industry to collapse in the middle of what is already a severe downturn "could send our suffering economy into a deeper and longer recession."

Oil futures slumped in New York

admin — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 15:17:28 -0800

Oil futures slumped in New York as concern mounted that rising stockpiles at Cushing, Oklahoma, will leave little room to store supplies for delivery next year.

Crude oil stockpiles at Cushing, where oil that’s traded on in New York is delivered, climbed 21 percent to 27.5 million barrels last week, the highest since May 2007, the government said in a report on Dec. 17. OPEC’s biggest production cut in more than a decade this week has failed to stop the slump in prices as the deepening global recession saps demand.

Crude oil for delivery in January fell as much as 7.7% to $33.44 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract expires today.

The more active February contract fell as much as 77 cents, or 1.9 percent, to $40.90 a barrel. It traded at $41.78 a barrel at 1:43 p.m. London time.

A U.S. government aid package for GM and Chrysler

admin — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 09:15:25 -0800

General Motors and Chrysler are close to securing emergency loans as part of a U.S. government aid package that would demand sweeping restructuring at the troubled carmakers, according to sources familiar with the talks.

Bridge loans to carry the companies for several months could be announced as early as Friday said the sources, who were not authorized to publicly discuss the negotiations.

That would stave off the prospect of an "orderly" bankruptcy, one option being considered by the U.S. government after more than a month of wrangling.

The aid package being spearheaded by the White House would demand that both carmakers restructure by seeking new concessions from unions and creditors, two people briefed on the talks said.

Fall of the European stocks and decline of U.S. futures

admin — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 14:13:25 -0800

European stocks and

U.S.

index futures dropped, led by banks, after the Federal Reserve cut interest rates to zero, leaving the central bank with fewer tools to combat the worsening global recession.

BNP Paribas SA slumped 15 percent after saying it lost 710 million euros ($1 billion) before tax in the first 11 months of the year at its securities unit. Deutsche Bank AG sank 6.2 percent as it delayed the redemption of 1 billion euros of bonds. Citigroup Inc. retreated 3.6 percent in German trading.

Europe’s Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Index slipped 0.3 percent to 198.44 at 11:05 a.m. in London after climbing as much as 0.9 percent earlier. Futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index expiring in March dropped 1.6 percent after the measure rose to a five-week high yesterday on the central bank’s decision.

“I expected the initial reaction to fade very soon, it shows how bad the situation really is,” said Roger Kunz, head of investment strategy at Clariden Leu in Zurich, which has about $120 billion in assets. “It’s a sign of almost despair.

Famous bloggers

admin — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 21:10:29 -0800

When the SEC charged Internet billionaire Mark Cuban with insider trading on Nov. 17, the brash mogul's followers knew where to look for the best commentary. Not newspapers, not cable TV but his uncensored personal soapbox, blogmaverick.com.

By Nov. 18, Cuban had posted two statements by his attorneys to the blog and dismissed the SEC's conduct as "results-oriented, facts-be-damned." In a single day, his Web traffic tripled.

It wasn't the first time. During the 2006 NBA playoffs pitting his own Dallas Mavericks against the San Antonio Spurs, he posted a critical entry about game officials and was promptly fined $200,000 by the league.

Cuban is hardly alone in embracing online journaling- more than 112 million people in the world blog regularly--but billionaires, with their vast wealth, power and (normally) deep desire for privacy, are a rarity.

Global financial crisis and the Moscow fair of millionaires

admin — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 21:12:54 -0800

SIMON SHUSTER — MOSCOW (Reuters) — The global financial crisis cast such a pall over Moscow's Millionaire Fair this week that even the yachts were two-for-the-price-of-one. And nobody was buying.

Instead, members of the crisis-hit Russian elite congratulated each other on simply finding the courage to attend what is usually a glittering show of ostentation.

"We're going through a murky and complicated period," socialite Ksenia Sobchak, the master of ceremonies, told the guests at the opening of the fair.

"Everyone is a superhero for finding it in themselves to come here tonight, to try to bask in the luxury."

With a helicopter and two dazzling sports cars greeting the guests at the door, there was plenty of luxury up for sale. But the main attraction seemed to be the central bar, where free champagne was served until around midnight.