Axa, Europe's second-largest insurer, is selling certain divisions of its company. These divisions include Axa Asia Pacific.
The National Australia Bank, Australia’s largest lender, placed a higher bid for Axa Asia Pacific than the local rival AMP. The offer from the NAB is 13.3bn Australian dollar.
Axa Asia Pacific is willing to accept this offer.
Shares in AXA Asia Pacific Holdings fell 3 per cent in opening trade after the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission blocked the bid from AMP.
The next move is for AMP. They can place an even higher offer, or they can lose the deal.
According to analysts, the deal would reduce competition in the domestic retail investment area.
A merge between NAB and Axa could harm the competition in the market for retail investment platforms for investors with complex investment needs.
On the other hand, a merge between AMP and Axa would not have this effect.
Life assurance and pensions companies have been increasingly focusing their attention on Asia as they search for growth beyond the mature markets of North America and Europe. That’s why NAB is willing to pay this large amount of money.
Bram Verstraete
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8629196.stm
woensdag 28 april 2010
Japan Airlines makes route cuts
Japan Airlines has announced they would cut another 15 international routes, and suspend operations on 30 more domestic routes. Some of the international routes that will be closed are the flights to Amsterdam, Milan, Rome and Sao Paulo. By these cuts they have stopped operating on 28 international routes and 50 domestic routes. By which they have reduced their international operations by 40% and their passenger capacity by 30%.
All these measures are taken because Japan Airlines has landed in bad papers in the economical crises we have had last year. And we have to say that the resturing of the company was a success because they have realised to make the company rather profitable again. they have even managed to get the results they did predict for over 3 years in the last year.
But these measures that have been taken have also a less good side, Japan Airlines will also close 11 overseas bases and 8 domestics offices due to these restrictions. But a positive point is that they have recieved 1000 requests more for a early retirement than the 2700 that they had hoped for.
I know it might sound really strange but it is good Japan Airlines is willing to cut in their number of flights. Because by taking these measures they seem to save their company that was nearly going towards a bankruptcy.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2hi/business/10089208.stm
All these measures are taken because Japan Airlines has landed in bad papers in the economical crises we have had last year. And we have to say that the resturing of the company was a success because they have realised to make the company rather profitable again. they have even managed to get the results they did predict for over 3 years in the last year.
But these measures that have been taken have also a less good side, Japan Airlines will also close 11 overseas bases and 8 domestics offices due to these restrictions. But a positive point is that they have recieved 1000 requests more for a early retirement than the 2700 that they had hoped for.
I know it might sound really strange but it is good Japan Airlines is willing to cut in their number of flights. Because by taking these measures they seem to save their company that was nearly going towards a bankruptcy.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2hi/business/10089208.stm
Toyota Corolla sales banned in Brazilian state
Brazil decided to ban the sales of the Corolla, the model of the Japanese carmaker Toyota. The reason for this is the lack of quality of the cars the last few months. The cars face accelerator and brake defects. Internationally Toyota has recalled more than 8 million vehicles already. Toyota said that the problems were caused by badly installed floor mats.
An investigation of The US in February revealed that those problems already made 34 traffic victims. Brazil don’t want to take risks and banned all the Corolla sales in their country . The government says that these vehicles are a menace for the safety of the occupants.
The Corolla is not the only vehicle that has problems. Toyota also announced that it was recalling about 34000 Lexus GX and Land Cruiser Prado SUVs. Those cars have a problem with the stability-control software. This program is made to reduce the risk of sliding sideways when turning sharply at high speed.
In my opinion Brazil took the right decision, Toyota might be the biggest carmaker since it overtook GM in 2008, but it has some serious quality control problems. Those problems might be the reason of the rapid expansion, that Toyota is going through. Although this shouldn’t be a reason to endanger the safety of the occupants.
Niels Steyaert
Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8638829.stm
An investigation of The US in February revealed that those problems already made 34 traffic victims. Brazil don’t want to take risks and banned all the Corolla sales in their country . The government says that these vehicles are a menace for the safety of the occupants.
The Corolla is not the only vehicle that has problems. Toyota also announced that it was recalling about 34000 Lexus GX and Land Cruiser Prado SUVs. Those cars have a problem with the stability-control software. This program is made to reduce the risk of sliding sideways when turning sharply at high speed.
In my opinion Brazil took the right decision, Toyota might be the biggest carmaker since it overtook GM in 2008, but it has some serious quality control problems. Those problems might be the reason of the rapid expansion, that Toyota is going through. Although this shouldn’t be a reason to endanger the safety of the occupants.
Niels Steyaert
Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8638829.stm
South Korea economy boosted by exports
South Korea’s economy grew rapidly in the first quarter of the year 2010. The economy grew by 1.8% in the first three months of the year. Analysts did not expect that and are astonished by the sharp export rise. They forecast that the economy will expand this year at its fastest rate since 2006.
In the previous quarter, the fourth quarter of 2009, the economy only grew by 0.2%. So there is an increase of 1.6%, which is good considering the crisis.
The government has boosted the economy by low interest rates and stimulus measures. Because of that South Korea has recovered strongly from the economic downturn that took place all over the world.
The exports helped a lot to make this grow possible. It rose by 3.4% in the first quarter, because of that the overall economic growth rose by 1.8%.
Despite of the strong recovery of South Korea, the government should not stop to help the economy. The stimulus measures are still needed.
The government in South Korea did good by stimulating the economy. They did better than expected so the measures where successful. However they had a little bit of luck that there export rose that much otherwise it would not been possible to have a 1.8% growth of their economy.
Thibaut Delsoir
Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8645959.stm
In the previous quarter, the fourth quarter of 2009, the economy only grew by 0.2%. So there is an increase of 1.6%, which is good considering the crisis.
The government has boosted the economy by low interest rates and stimulus measures. Because of that South Korea has recovered strongly from the economic downturn that took place all over the world.
The exports helped a lot to make this grow possible. It rose by 3.4% in the first quarter, because of that the overall economic growth rose by 1.8%.
Despite of the strong recovery of South Korea, the government should not stop to help the economy. The stimulus measures are still needed.
The government in South Korea did good by stimulating the economy. They did better than expected so the measures where successful. However they had a little bit of luck that there export rose that much otherwise it would not been possible to have a 1.8% growth of their economy.
Thibaut Delsoir
Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8645959.stm
zondag 25 april 2010
donderdag 8 april 2010
Tokyo tuna market bans tourists after trader complaints
Each morning there is a tuna market, known as the Tsukiji fish market, in Tokyo. It’s the biggest fish market in the world, handling 2000 tons of seafood every day. This means that every morning hundreds of tuna are laid out to be auctioned. The demand for it is very high and the stock is getting smaller, which makes the price insane. Some tuna’s are being sold for more than 100 000 dollar.
The growing reputation of sushi brings a lot of tourists to the market. The Japanese government, and especially the traders aren’t really upset with the foreign visitors. The tourists come straight to the market, after a night out. U can imagine that they bring more troubles than profit.
Also the camera flashes of the tourists are an obstacle, they obscure the hand signals used to make bids. For those reasons, the Japanese government decided to ban all tourists for a month. This decision was made after drunken visitors embraced and kissed a fish.
In my opinion the Japanese government took a wrong decision. I do agree with the part that foreign visitors only bring troubles to the fish market as aforementioned. But they could take more flexible measures than a total ban. They could ban camera’s on the fish market, to avoid that the tourists obscure the hand signals. They could also do an alcohol test on the visitors, to make sure that there’s no drunken people around.
Niels Steyaert
Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8608613.stm
The growing reputation of sushi brings a lot of tourists to the market. The Japanese government, and especially the traders aren’t really upset with the foreign visitors. The tourists come straight to the market, after a night out. U can imagine that they bring more troubles than profit.
Also the camera flashes of the tourists are an obstacle, they obscure the hand signals used to make bids. For those reasons, the Japanese government decided to ban all tourists for a month. This decision was made after drunken visitors embraced and kissed a fish.
In my opinion the Japanese government took a wrong decision. I do agree with the part that foreign visitors only bring troubles to the fish market as aforementioned. But they could take more flexible measures than a total ban. They could ban camera’s on the fish market, to avoid that the tourists obscure the hand signals. They could also do an alcohol test on the visitors, to make sure that there’s no drunken people around.
Niels Steyaert
Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8608613.stm
Chinese Yuan must be more flexible, says White House
The US mentioned again that they would continue to press China to value their currency to be much more market based.
The white house says that the Chinese Yuan isn’t flexible enough and it should be more open to trade more on foreign exchange markets.
The Chinese Yuan stays low. This makes it harder for US exports to compete with Chinese exports. According to the US, Chinese exports have an unfair advantage in world trade and so steals American jobs.
I think it’s a normal reaction from the US to stress this economic phenomenon. They want to protect the American market from the strong growing Chinese Economy which is changing the global economy.
Robert Gibbs, the press secretary of the White House, said in a news briefing that the Yuan would be on the agenda next week when President Barack Obama meets his Chinese counterpart.
The US treasury is confident that China will decide it's in their interest to resume the move to a more flexible exchange rate.
Chinese officials have given no ground, saying they will stick to a stable exchange rate.
Resolving such trade disagreement requires that both sides need to be calm and sensible.
Bram Verstraete
Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8606249.stm
The white house says that the Chinese Yuan isn’t flexible enough and it should be more open to trade more on foreign exchange markets.
The Chinese Yuan stays low. This makes it harder for US exports to compete with Chinese exports. According to the US, Chinese exports have an unfair advantage in world trade and so steals American jobs.
I think it’s a normal reaction from the US to stress this economic phenomenon. They want to protect the American market from the strong growing Chinese Economy which is changing the global economy.
Robert Gibbs, the press secretary of the White House, said in a news briefing that the Yuan would be on the agenda next week when President Barack Obama meets his Chinese counterpart.
The US treasury is confident that China will decide it's in their interest to resume the move to a more flexible exchange rate.
Chinese officials have given no ground, saying they will stick to a stable exchange rate.
Resolving such trade disagreement requires that both sides need to be calm and sensible.
Bram Verstraete
Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8606249.stm
Why migrant workers are shunning China's factories
If you are looking for a job in the city of Donguan in southern China, you do not have to do a great effort to find one. There is a shortage of 2 million workers in this part of China.
Close to the railway station representatives of the factories are eager to meet new recruits who can work in their factories. The government denies there is a shortage, but the body language of the recruiters suggests that this is not the case. The recruiters are working hard to find job seekers.
A worker from another province says it is a good time to be looking for a job, you can go to a factory and get a job without even an interview.
At the Yong Feng shoe moulding factory nearby they also have a shortage of workers, they have work for over 500 people but only 400 are working at the moment. The wages they used to offer were generally enough to convince a worker to stay, but those days are over. Between the wages inland and the one here there is not a huge difference.
I do not think it is good to employ workers without an interview, it is not good for the quality of the goods that the company is creating. Workers do not care if they get sacked cause finding another job is not hard to find. I would raise the wages and certainly do an interview before they can work in the factory.
Thibaut Delsoir
Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8586672.stm
Close to the railway station representatives of the factories are eager to meet new recruits who can work in their factories. The government denies there is a shortage, but the body language of the recruiters suggests that this is not the case. The recruiters are working hard to find job seekers.
A worker from another province says it is a good time to be looking for a job, you can go to a factory and get a job without even an interview.
At the Yong Feng shoe moulding factory nearby they also have a shortage of workers, they have work for over 500 people but only 400 are working at the moment. The wages they used to offer were generally enough to convince a worker to stay, but those days are over. Between the wages inland and the one here there is not a huge difference.
I do not think it is good to employ workers without an interview, it is not good for the quality of the goods that the company is creating. Workers do not care if they get sacked cause finding another job is not hard to find. I would raise the wages and certainly do an interview before they can work in the factory.
Thibaut Delsoir
Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8586672.stm
woensdag 7 april 2010
China soya ban angers Argentina
Argentina did complain to the Chinese gouvernment about their planned boycott of Argentina's soya and oil. They are having this boycott because the Chinese gouvernment thinks the soya and oil is failing the quality standards.
But we think it is more an action against Argentina then the products "failing" to quality standards, they think it is just an excuse. While Argentina had taken some measures to protect their own economy. Such as taxes on Chinese import. They have done that to avoid the dumping strategy of the world's biggest exporter. These measures where necessary to prevent their own market to bee flood by Chinese goods.
If china would ban the soya oil of Argentina, Argentina's economy might have problems while they are the biggest oil exporter in the world, and the China is their biggest customer.
According to me the boycott has nothing to do with the quality of the oil, but China is putting a bit of pressure on Argentina so they stop protecting their own economy and let China use their dumping-measures again. I do not think countries as China should use their power to put pressure on smaller economies like there is in Argentina to be able to do whatever they want.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8604372.stm
But we think it is more an action against Argentina then the products "failing" to quality standards, they think it is just an excuse. While Argentina had taken some measures to protect their own economy. Such as taxes on Chinese import. They have done that to avoid the dumping strategy of the world's biggest exporter. These measures where necessary to prevent their own market to bee flood by Chinese goods.
If china would ban the soya oil of Argentina, Argentina's economy might have problems while they are the biggest oil exporter in the world, and the China is their biggest customer.
According to me the boycott has nothing to do with the quality of the oil, but China is putting a bit of pressure on Argentina so they stop protecting their own economy and let China use their dumping-measures again. I do not think countries as China should use their power to put pressure on smaller economies like there is in Argentina to be able to do whatever they want.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8604372.stm
Steel mills told to halt production
In China, small steel mills have to shut down their production by the end of this year. They are being told to do so by the central government, who is planning to reduce the productivity of the industry with this measure to prevent overcapacity. This way, the government also wants to force the industry to upgrade its facilities.
The measure is taken because the industry has been facing an oversupply which have weighed on steel prices and made profit margins drop. By lowering the supply they hope that the prices and profit margins rise again.
China's government is also planning to shut down small and outdated places in other sectors including power, coal, calcium carbide, ... On the one hand to save energy, on the other hand to reduce emissions.
Afterwards the government will strictly control the region's projects assessments, by withholding approvals for new investments. This way the government will be able to control the demand and supply more efficient to prevent overcapacity from occuring.
Personally I think the Chinese government shouldn't interfere to much with the economic market. China should strive for a free market without major economic intervention and regulation by its governement. I think it is wrong that the government has the power to decide that companies have to end their affairs, it doesn't belong in the world of today. Furthermore, why do the small companies have to shut down and can the big ones continu their production? What gives those other companies more rights?
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