From the monthly archives:
The global demand for electronic doodads is falling fast. So fast that Sony (SNE: 26.80 -0.18 -0.67%) said it will report its first annual loss in 14 years.
And that is after laying off 8,000 of its 185,000 jobs around the world and closing 10% of its 57 factories.
The strengthening yen sure isn’t helping either.
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Anheuser-Busch InBev is going to sell the majority of its stake in China’s biggest brewer Tsingtao to Japanese beer giant Asahi for $667 million to help pay off some of the debt it incurred to buy Anheuser Busch last year.
AB InBev will sell 19.9% of Tsingtao and keep 7%.
Paying off debt is always a good [...]
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The Chinese government reported that its economy expanded by 6.8% in the fourth quarter of 2008. That may sound like a lot to us Americans but it is well below what everybody was expecting and a very clear sign that the global recession is hitting everyone very hard…including China.
Americans just aren’t buying as much [...]
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China Mobile, the largest mobile telephone company in the world, added 7.07 million new mobile phone customers in December. That brings China Mobile’s (CHL: 49.47 -0.08 -0.16%) total subscriber base to 457 million.
Yup, China Mobile has more customer than the U.S. has people.
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For the first time since the Great Depression, General Motors (GM: 0.00 N/A N/A)is not the largest auto company in the world. Toyota passed GM for total sales in 2008.
GM sold 8.35 million cars (an 11% decrease from 2007) while Toyota (TM: 76.97 -0.54 -0.70%) sold 8.97 million (a 4% year-over-year drop) cars.
All car makers [...]
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The global economic slowdown is hitter harder and faster than everybody expects.
The Singapore Ministry of Finance lowered its 2009 growth forecast for the second time in three week, dropping its annual growth target from -2% to a range of -2% to -5% instead.
“Data releases in the past two weeks for retail sales and unemployment in [...]
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According to the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, the urban unemployment rate in China rose for the first time in five years to 4.2% as of December 31.
At least that is what the Chinese government is willing to admit to. I suspect the numbers are even worse but what really matters is unemployment [...]
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China Life (LFC: 74.33 +0.51 +0.69%) warned that its 2009 profits would fall by more than 50%. The problem? A declining value of its investment portfolio, slower sales, and higher-than-expected claims from the Sichuan earthquake.
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Investors are voting with their feet.
Merrill Lynch clients pulled out $10 billion of their dollars in Q4, more than triple the amount ($3 billion) in Q3. Total clients assets at Merrill Lynch fell from $1.48 trillion to $1.25 trillion.
You can bet that what is happening at Merrill Lynch (MER: 11.78 0.00 0.00%) is happening at [...]
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Disneyland is coming to Shanghai.
Disneyland (DIS: 30.01 -0.20 -0.66%)has struck a deal with the Chinese government to build a Disneyland theme park in Shanghai. The $3.5 billion park is expected to open in 2014.
Disney has not had great success with its overseas theme parks. I know that the one in Hong Kong has been a [...]
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