US trade judge rules for Apple in Nokia dispute

AFP, WASHINGTON, MAR 27: A judge with the US International Trade Commission ruled in Apple's favor in a patent dispute with Finland's Nokia over mobile phones, portable music players and computers. Judge James Gildea denied Nokia's claim that Apple had violated five patents held by the Finnish company. The judge did not provide an explanation for his ruling and the full six-member commission now has 60 days to review his determination. The ITC has the authority to...

US trade judge rules for Apple in Nokia dispute

AFP, Washington, Mar 27: A judge with the US International Trade Commission ruled in Apple's favor in a patent dispute with Finland's Nokia over mobile phones, portable music players and computers. Judge James Gildea denied Nokia's claim that Apple had violated five patents held by the Finnish company. The judge did not provide an explanation for his ruling and the full six-member commission now has 60 days to review his determination. The ITC has the authority to...

Currency flexibility key in LatAm: World Bank chief

AFP, Calgary, Canada, Mar 27: Latin American nations should allow their currencies to firm if needed to help cool overheated economies, the International Monetary Fund chief said Saturday. "A range of policies could be used to prevent overheating and dampen the credit cycle, including upward exchange rate flexibility, a more appropriate mix of monetary and fiscal policies, and adequate financial regulations," IMF managing director Dominique Strauss-Kahn told finance...

Indian PM commits to reforms

AFP, New Delhi, Mar 27: India's prime minister has reaffirmed his Congress-led government's commitment to economic reforms as the administration battles a host of corruption scandals. The new thrust on reforms is seen by analysts as an attempt by the government to re-energise its legislative programme and take away the focus from the corruption storm. "I confirm our commitment to new wave of reforms," Singh, widely credited with opening up India?s economy in 1991...

Auditor raps India's ONGC over 'inflated' claims

AFP, New Delhi, Mar 27: India's auditor has rapped state-run ONGC over its $2.12 billion purchase of Imperial Energy, saying unrealistic output forecasts were made to justify the energy giant's costliest ever acquisition. The harshly-worded condemnation comes only months before Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) is slated to hold a share sale targeted to raise around $2.7 billion for government coffers. The government auditor said Russia-focused Imperial, whose main...

Philippine carrier gets green light to cut units

AFP, Manila, Mar 27: National flag-carrier Philippine Airlines has won government approval to hive off some units to cut costs, but the staff must get higher severance pay, President Benigno Aquino's chief aide said Saturday. The government ruling gives the struggling company a free hand to farm out its in-flight catering, airport services and call centre reservations to other companies, to cut its long-terms costs. However the government also ordered PAL to pay a...

Brown urges G-20 to seal 'global growth pact'

AP, Dallas, Mar 27: Alaska Airlines and its Horizon Air affiliate canceled 95 flights Saturday because a computer system used for flight planning failed. The outage lasted intermittently for about seven hours and resulted in the two airlines scrapping about 12 percent of their combined schedule before technicians fixed the system, which returned at 10 a.m. Pacific time. Company spokesman Paul McElroy said many other flights were delayed, and customers had trouble...

Brown urges G-20 to seal 'global growth pact'

AP, Brussels, Mar 27: Less than a week ahead of a meeting of the Group of 20 rich and developing nations in China, former U.K. Prime Minister Gordon Brown has urged the world's most powerful economies to seal a "global growth pact" to fight unemployment. Brown was joined on Saturday by other top economic policymakers in his call for a transformation of the G-20 to help it remain relevant in a global economy torn by clashing national interests — although their focus...

London's biggest protest since Iraq war in 2003

AP, London, Mar 26: More than 250,000 people took to London's streets to protest the toughest spending cuts since World War II — one of the largest demonstrations since the Iraq war — as riot police clashed with a small groups. More than 200 people were arrested. Although most of Saturday's demonstration was peaceful, clashes continued into the night as dozens of protesters pelted officers with bottles and amonia-filled lightbulbs. Groups set several fires and smashed...

'Brain waste' thwarts immigrants' career dreams

AP, New York, Mar 27: After finishing medical school in Bogota, Colombia, Maria Anjelica Montenegro did it all — obstetrics, pediatrics, emergency medicine, even surgery. By her estimate, she worked with thousands of patients. None of that prepared her for the jobs she's had since she moved to the United States: Sales clerk. Babysitter. Medical assistant. That last one definitely rubbed raw at times. 'I know I was working in my field,' the 34-year-old New York resident...

Rosneft shares nosedive after BP deal blocked

AFP, Moscow, March 25: Rosneft shares opened sharply lower on Friday after an arbitration tribunal blocked British energy giant BP's Arctic oil tie-up with Russia's largest oil company. The state-held firm's shares were down about 1.5 percent in early trading on Moscow's MICEX exchange while those of BP's Russian joint venture TNK-BP opened the day higher by 0.9 percent. The broader market was down as traders digested the Stockholm Arbitration Tribunal's Thursday...

Disgraced ex-David Jones boss lands new top job

AFP, Sydney, March 25: The disgraced former chief of Australia's upmarket department store chain David Jones landed another high-profile job Friday less than a year after quitting amid allegations of sexual misconduct. Mark McInnes was appointed chief executive of Premier Retail, which owns Just Jeans, Jay Jays, Portmans, Jacqui E, and Peter Alexander with about 950 stores throughout Australia and New Zealand. 'In my previous role as CEO, I did make an error in judgement,'...

German Ifo indicator falls for first time since May

AFP, Berlin, March 25: Germany's Ifo indicator of business confidence in Europe's top economy fell in March for the first time since May, the Ifo institute said Friday. The closely watched index inched down to 111.1 points from 111.3 in February after nine consecutive monthly rises. The fall was however not as steep as feared by economists, who had forecast on average a drop to 110.5 points....

Brazil airplane giant posts $341 mln 2010 profit

AFP, Sao Paulo, March 25: Brazil's Embraer, the world's third largest commercial airplane manufacturer, on Thursday announced over $340 million in profits in 2010. The company said in a statement that it had posted profits of 600.2 million reals, or $341 million according to the average 2010 exchange rate, with a total benefit for shareholders of 573.6 million reals, or $326 million. During the past year the company delivered 101 commercial aircraft and 145 business...

Australia extends deadline for broadband network

AFP, Sydney, March 25: Australian senators have extended by two-and-a-half years the deadline for completion of the country's national broadband network in order to connect an extra million homes. The company building the Aus$36 billion ($36 billion) system, NBN Co, now has until December 2020 to build the infrastructure across the vast continent, instead of the original June 2018 date. Communications Minister Stephen Conroy said more time was needed to wire up 93...

BHP to invest billions in Australian iron ore, coal

AFP, Sydney, March 25: Mining giant BHP Billiton said Friday it will pour almost $13 billion into expanding its coal and iron ore operations in Australia, key commodities that are driving the boom in Asian economies. The cashed-up resource giant's huge spending spree will see investment in mine and rail projects across the country as well as new equipment as it moves to meet ever growing demand from key markets in China and India. Anglo-Australian BHP said $7.4 billion...

Eurozone private sector lending stronger in February

AFP, Frankfurt, March 25: The rate of growth in eurozone bank loans to the private sector rose again in February, the European Central bank said Friday, signalling more support for growth across the 17-nation bloc. Lending expanded by 2.6 percent from the same month a year earlier, up from 2.4 percent in January, an ECB spokesman said, reinforcing an upward trend that had been interrupted in December. The central bank also said that eurozone money supply as measured...

Malaysian car production may face Japan hitch

AP, Kuala Lumpur, March 25: Malaysia's auto sales are on track to grow 2 percent to a record 618,000 vehicles this year, although production could be disrupted in coming months by parts shortages following Japan's earthquake and tsunami. Sales last year in Southeast Asia's largest passenger car market rose 12.7 percent to 605,156 vehicles. For the first two months of this year, sales were up 4 percent, Malaysian Automotive Association president Aishah Ahmad said Friday....

Big queues for iPad 2 in Australia

AFP, Sydney, March 25: Hundreds of people queued for up to two days to get their hands on the iPad 2 which went on sale in Australia on Friday for the first time. Apple's latest touchscreen tablet computer hit stores in the United States on March 11 but only went on sale here at 5:00pm (0600 GMT) and fans snaked round the company's flagship store in central Sydney. First in line was Canadian backpacker Alex Lee who headed to the store straight from the airport after...

Apple’s iPad 2 hits overseas stores after US sell-out

Reuters, Wellington/Sydney, March 25: Hundreds of customers lined up outside Apple stores in Australia and New Zealand on Friday for the international launch of the iPad 2, which has flown off the shelves in the United States leaving the company struggling to meet demand. Analysts forecast some 1 million devices may have been sold in the first weekend of the launch in the United States, but many warn that it's not clear how supply constraints will affect availability...

Power outages could hamper Japanese recovery: IMF

AFP, Washington, March 25: Restoring power and government reconstruction spending are crucial to Japan's economy resuming growth, the IMF said Thursday, after Tokyo put the damage of the March 11 earthquake at $309 billion. International Monetary Fund officials said they expected a short-term slowdown, but growth would "rebound" to pre-quake levels and more. But unlike natural disasters in other countries, the potential of sustained power shortages due to the...

Global crises to soften M&A near-term after strong Q1

Reuters, Philadelphia/London, March 25: This year is set to be a blockbuster for deals, exemplified by mega acquisitions such as T-Mobile USA or Genzyme, with turmoil in the Middle East and Japan causing just a temporary slowdown. Worldwide mergers and acquisitions (M&A) have risen 58 percent so far this year, according to preliminary data from Thomson Reuters, marking the best start to a year since 2007 and building on last year's tentative recovery. A doubling...

Vietnam seeks to cure growth ‘addiction’

AFP, Hanoi: Vietnam is looking to balance its long-standing ‘addiction’ to growth with measures to stabilise the troubled economy, but its success depends on restoring public confidence, analysts say. The moves follow months of concern from investors and economists over the Southeast Asian nation’s rising inflation, struggling currency and other economic woes that accompanied the high growth rate. Strong action began only in February when the State Bank of Vietnam announced...

Gates, Buffett bid to open rich Indians’ wallets

AFP, New Delhi: Two of the world’s richest men, software pioneer Bill Gates and investor Warren Buffett, are set to visit India this week to persuade the country’s super-wealthy to part with more of their cash. The pair made headlines last year when they said they would seek to get fellow billionaires to commit half of their wealth to good causes as part of the ‘Giving Pledge’. So far, 59 rich Americans have taken the pledge. But while charitable giving is widespread...

Europe polishes response to year-long debt crisis

AFP, Brussels: Europe’s leaders put the finishing touches to their response to a year-long debt crisis this week, as financial strain in Portugal threatens a third bailout after Greece and Ireland. Heads of state and government of the 27 European Union states meet Thursday and Friday in Brussels, with the situation in Libya, and nuclear safety issues in the wake of Japan’s quake and tsunami severely damaging a reactor, high on the agenda. Their remaining focus will...

British budget to focus on recovery amid cuts

AFP, London: Britain’s government unveils its annual budget Wednesday, expected to focus on nurturing economic growth in the face of deep spending cuts and tax hikes aimed at slashing the nations’ huge deficit. Finance minister George Osborne unveils his 2011/2012 tax and spend plans amid fears that his drastic belt-tightening measures could tip Britain back into recession. Prime minister David Cameron’s Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition, which rose to power in...

After lean times, Greek tourism eyes crisis rebound

AFP, Athens: After two lean seasons and a year marred by austerity protests, Greek tourism operators expect a rebound in 2011 with the global economy in recovery and unrest in North Africa turning demand elsewhere. And although visitors avoiding Egypt and Tunisia may not necessarily flock to Greece—which has troubles of its own from an unpopular economic overhaul—the extra demand is enough for the entire region, industry representatives said. ‘As an all-year destination,...

Production at CUFL suspended

Production at Chittagong Urea Fertiliser Company Limited was suspended for an indefinite period on Thursday evening due to non supply of gas. The country’s biggest fertiliser factory suspended production at 7.45 PM on March 17, CUFL sources said. They said that due to acute gas crisis, the government decided to suspend gas supply to CUFL and divert it to Power Development Board’s gas fired power plants. The objective, they said, was to improve power supply in summer. Suspension...

Non-boiled rice OMS pushes up parboiled coarse rice price

The price of parboiled course rice, consumed largely by low-income people, has increased unusually before the boro harvest as the government sold non-boiled rice through its open market sales network in the past week, market people said. Rice prices showed a declining trend in two or three weeks as boro harvest was nearing but in the past week, rice prices marked a fresh uptrend. ‘As non-boiled rice was sold in the week in some southern districts from OMS outlets, the...

Bangladesh OMS (Open market sale) photos

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