Saturday, 29 January, 2005

OK, this is the best mix of international business news available on 29 JAN 05. We want to update our readers of a couple of new features starting with our Sunday edition. I personally look forward to the commentary section of the newspaper (any paper) for the latest thinking or the lack of it. We will find a wide mix of voices representing regions (North America, Middle East, etc.) to convey various ideas about economics and politics, and how that effects the marketplace. If you have not been alerted to this fact earlier, we @pryvateer.news are unabased free-marketers and classic liberals. That means we are not part of the current world liberal movement as represented by the Democratic Party in the US, the Liberal Party in Canada, the Labor Party in the United Kingdom, etc., which in our view are all part of the bankrupt socialist economic philosophy. We are Gladstone liberals. What is apparent to us and several stories support this view is the challenge of growth in good economic conditions. One example is Japan. We believe the evidence is clear: increasing governmental involvement in the economy = poorer economic performance. The best example is the United States slipping from #6 on the list of top economies all the way to 12th - tied with Switzerland - no offense Switzerland. The context - growth of the US government in the last 4 years in terms of percentage of the Gross Domestic Production has been unparalled. The US economy hasn't experienced this percentage of GDP since the late 1960's and Johnson's "Great Society." Enjoy the weekend and charge your batteries for Monday's commerce. Ciao from the staff @pryvateer.news 1:09:35 PM    comment []

World Bank voices doubts  Of the 10 new members that joined the European Union in May 2004, the majority of the eight former communist bloc countries plan tight budgets for 2005. Hungary, however, is expected to again exceed its public budget deficit target for this year, says the latest report on the region by the World Bank. 12:51:38 PM    comment []

World Business Quick Take  �¡ Semiconductors Chip glut contracts  �¡ Mobile Phones NTT DoCoMo profit rises  �¡ Breweries Molson merger vote held  �¡ Taxes US pressured to cut rates 12:50:02 PM    comment []

WTO chief urges speed on trade pact  `DOHA ROUND': Supachai Panitchpakdi expressed concern at the WEF that there has been too little progress in talks to energize a treaty to liberalize global commerce 12:48:12 PM    comment []

Games and PCs buoy Microsoft profits  Microsoft Corp posted solid growth in quarterly sales and profits on Thursday, buoyed by strong holiday sales of personal computers and video games. 12:47:06 PM    comment []

Ahead of Vienna meeting, Opec likely to keep output steady DAVOS, Switzerland - Opec will likely keep output unchanged, despite concerns about oversupply and prices hovering around the US$50 a barrel mark, oil ministers and analysts said ahead of a key meeting this weekend. 12:44:29 PM    comment []

Oil prices fall as market focuses on Opec, Iraq LONDON - Crude oil futures prices fell more than US$1 a barrel on Friday, following a sharp decline in heating oil futures and on speculation that the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries, which pumps more than a third of the world's oil, will not cut production at a meeting on Sunday. 12:43:26 PM    comment []

US$ flat against euro despite weak GDP NEW YORK - The US dollar was little changed against the euro on Friday, holding its ground during a choppy session, despite weaker-than-expected US fourth quarter gross domestic product data. 12:42:29 PM    comment []

Software, call-centre companies biggest job-creators in India (MUMBAI) Indian software and call-centre companies were the biggest job-creators in the country in the past two months, according to the Associated Chamber of Commerce and Industry of India. 12:41:17 PM    comment []

Top technology trends for this year  Viruses will be rampant as mobile phone growth offers big opportunities: Deloitte  ABOUT two billion people worldwide will own mobile phones this year, offering 'tantalising commercial opportunities' for content producers and resellers. The key to success in the cellphone industry will be simplicity, both of usage and solutions. 12:40:05 PM    comment []

Big week should help give markets direction  NEW YORK - The worries and concerns that have pressured stocks for much of January could dissipate in the week ahead, which should bring some resolution to a decidedly irresolute marketplace. 12:38:39 PM    comment []

Datamatics to substantially increase its remote workforce  MUMBAI: Datamatics Technologies Ltd (DTL), one of the largest non-voice BPO services company in India, plans to substantially scale up its remote workforce consisting of housewives and physically challenged people, who operate from their own homes in Chennai and Mumbai. 12:36:59 PM    comment []

India, Russia agree to develop strategic partnership  NEW DELHI: Carrying forward the new momentum in bilateral ties, India and Russia have agreed to further develop their strategic partnership and work for a more cooperative, consensual and multi-polar security order. 12:35:54 PM    comment []

A barmy economic plan v free trade  In a perfectly moral universe, everyone gets what they deserve. However, it doesn�t work like that in the economic world. Ayn Rand called such people �second-handers� � not only those who do not work for what they receive, but, what is worse, those who detest the process that creates the end-product. 12:33:50 PM    comment []

Problems with markets?  One of the most frequent complaints heard against impersonal market forces is that they take no account of so-called �justice� or the social consequences of profit and loss calculations. (That this is something to be welcomed is difficult for many to grasp). These complaints are invariably made by people with no economic training and little or no understanding of economic history. 12:32:50 PM    comment []

LUKoil to Become U.S. Brand  DAVOS, Switzerland -- LUKoil plans to rebrand its U.S. gas stations with its own name, giving the oil heavyweight the biggest public presence of any Russian firm in North America, a board member said Thursday. 12:31:23 PM    comment []

Newspaper: Putin Backs Plan to Clip Tax Police  President Vladimir Putin is backing a government proposal to curb aggressive tax probes in an attempt to soothe investor concern, Vedomosti reported Thursday. 12:30:30 PM    comment []

PA Cabinet secretary: Sharon- Abbas summit next month  Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and recently-elected Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas will hold their first summit during the second week of February, Palestinian Cabinet secretary Hassan Abu Libdeh said on Saturday. 12:28:09 PM    comment []

U.S. eyes education, medicine sectors  Fewer restrictions sought on university branches, mixed health services The United States wants to expand U.S. investors' presence in Japan's education and medical services markets, a U.S. State Department official said Friday. 12:26:33 PM    comment []

Output up 5.5% in 2004 despite late slide  Japan's industrial production expanded an unadjusted 5.5 percent in 2004, marking a second straight yearly rise, the government said Friday. 12:25:13 PM    comment []

CPI declines for the fifth straight year as deflation continues to dog economy  The key gauge of consumer prices in Japan fell 0.1 percent in 2004, marking a fifth straight yearly decline and underscoring that the economy is still beset by deflation, the government said Friday. 12:24:12 PM    comment []

Canon logs record net profit despite snarling competition  Canon Inc. said Friday its net profit for 2004 jumped 25 percent from a year earlier to a record 343.34 billion yen, driven by robust sales of multifunctional copiers, laser printers and digital cameras. 12:23:11 PM    comment []

Jobless rate edges to six-year low  But 2.7 million listed as unemployed Japan's unemployment rate edged down 0.1 percent to a six-year low of 4.4 percent in December. The government said Friday the December data brought the nation's average unemployment rate in 2004 to 4.7 percent, down 0.6 percentage point from the previous year and representing a second straight year of decline. 12:21:55 PM    comment []

Chechens Join Iraqi Guerrillas; Syrian �Black Flags� Sabotage Iraqi Oil  August 19, 2003, 9:52 AM (GMT+02:00) US intelligence has dissected the makeup of the guerrilla groups lurking in Baghdad and points north in an area enclosed by Tikrit, Haditha, Fallujah and Baquba. They have come up with some alarming findings: 12:16:45 PM    comment []

Iraqi Poll�s Winners and Losers - According to US Forecast   January 27, 2005, 11:44 AM (GMT+02:00) Islamic law - but no theocracy Wednesday was the single most deadly day for US forces in Iraq ; 36 servicemen died � 31 in a helicopter crash and five in anti-insurgent operations at trouble spots. At least 25 Iraqis were also killed in insurgent attacks on party offices and police centers. 12:14:14 PM    comment []

Administration Won't Appeal Media Ownership Decision  "The Bush administration says it won't appeal a court decision that blocks proposed regulations aimed at loosening limits on media ownership," the Associated Press reports. 12:11:16 PM    comment []

Cato Poll: Majority of Americans Support Individual Accounts  "A majority of Americans, including nearly one-third of Democrats, support President Bush's proposal to let workers voluntarily invest part of their Social Security payroll taxes in stocks and bonds, a nationwide poll shows," the Washington Times reports. 12:09:19 PM    comment []

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