 IN BRIEF (Page 15)
(China Daily)
Updated: 2008-07-03 07:58 Futures pare gains US stock-index futures pared gains after an industry report showed employers cut more jobs than analysts had forecast in June. The ADP Employer Services report said the US lost 79,000 jobs last month. Futures on the Standard & Poor's 500 Index expiring in September added 3.4 points, or 0.3 percent, to 1,289.60 as of 8:20 am in New York after earlier gaining 8.4 points. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures climbed 9 points to 11,388, paring an earlier advance of 57 points. NASDAQ-100 Index futures gained 11.75 to 1,880.75. Yahoo climbs Yahoo Inc, the second most popular search engine, advanced in early trading on optimism that Microsoft Corp may revive attempts to take over the Internet company. The shares gained as much as 6.9 percent after the Wall Street Journal said Microsoft, the world's biggest software maker, approached media companies about trying to break up Yahoo. Microsoft talked with Time Warner Inc, News Corp and others, the newspaper said, citing people familiar with the matter. Satyam eyes Europe Satyam Computer Services Ltd, India's fourth-largest software company, aims to boost European sales to $1 billion in three years to help reduce its dependence on the United States, its biggest market. Satyam is bidding for larger contracts in the continent and targeting new business from existing customers such as European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co to increase revenue in Europe to 25 percent of the software provider's sales by 2011, Peter Heij, senior vice president and head of European sales at the Hyderabad-based company, said yesterday. 'Worst is over' European banks do not need to raise additional capital and the "worst is over" for writedowns of credit-related losses at financial firms, said JPMorgan Chase & Co. "The worst of the markdowns seems to be over," London- based analyst Kian Abouhossein wrote in a note to clients yesterday. "We do not believe that further capital raising is needed at this point." Sales up in Oz Australian retail sales rose in May at the fastest pace in six months, sending the currency higher on speculation the central bank will boost borrowing costs again this year. Sales climbed 0.7 percent from April, when they fell a revised 0.1 percent, the Bureau of Statistics said in Sydney yesterday. Spending has increased on food, recreational goods, cosmetics and jewelry, suggesting households are weathering 12- year high interest rates and record gasoline prices. Tasty result Sodexo, the world's second-largest catering company, said nine-month sales rose 2.5 percent on purchases of travel packages for rugby's World Cup and new contracts with schools and hospitals. Sales climbed to 10.5 billion euros from 10.2 billion euros a year earlier, the Issy-les-Moulineaux, France-based company said yesterday in a Business Wire statement. The nine-month period ran through May. Sales gained 8.2 percent excluding acquisitions and currency movements, slowing from the first half's 9.2 percent climb. 'Strong' first half Balfour Beatty Plc, the United Kingdom's biggest construction company, said demand continued to be strong in the first half as orders grew and prospects at its rail division improved. Orders increased by 400 million pounds since the end of last year to reach 11.8 billion pounds, London-based Balfour said yesterday. "Trading in the year to date continues to be strong," the statement said. Agencies (China Daily 07/03/2008 page15) |
