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International Business News
GE profit drops 46pc as finance unit struggles
AP, Washington
In a discouraging report tor the American economy, General Electric Co. posted a 46 percent drop in fourth-quarter earnings on Friday and warned of a tough environment this year as it struggles with its ailing finance business.
The results cap a difficult 2008 for one of tire world's largest industrial companies and point to risks ahead.
GE's businesses touch on most sectors of an economy mired in a recession, from medical equipment and real estate to TV stations. And its longtime profit engine, GE Capital, has seen profits sapped as businesses and consumers limit borrowing or default.
"The environment in total is very tough," GE's Chief Executive Jeff Immelt told analysts on an investor conference call.
Shares of the Fairfield, Conn.-based company fell $1.45, or 10.8 percent to $12.03 Friday, after hitting a 52-week low of $ 11.87 earlier in the session.
After paying preferred dividends, GE's earnings totaled $3.65 billion, or 35 cents per share for the three months ended Dec. 31, down from $6.7 billion, or 66 cents per share, a year earlier. Those results included $1.5 billion in charges from a restructuring of GE Capital and increased reserves. But they also included a significant tax boost of $1 38 billion.
Beijing relaxes rules on foreigners buying property
AFP, Beijing
Restrictions on foreigners buying property in the Chinese capital have been relaxed for 2009, state media reported Saturday, as Beijing moves to stimulate a sluggish housing market.
Limits were introduced in 2007 in response to rocketing property prices in the densely crowded capital, which meant only expatriates who had been in Beijing for more than a year were allowed to buy a home and no foreigner could buy multiple properties.
"In simple words, foreign expatriates in Beijing could buy only one house then," Li Wenjie, general manager of real estate agency Centaline China s North China branch, told the Xinhua news agency.
"The house price skyrocketed at that time. The government wanted to curb foreign capital in driving up the property price. "
The rules had the effect of cutting foreign purchases, which had accounted for up to eight percent of all real estate transactions, but dropped to around 0.5 percent, the report said.
Xinhua said nine governmental departments had decided to relax the residency requirement and remove restrictions on property numbers for foreigners as part of a series of measures to revitalise the slowinghousing market.
Australia boosts economic stimulus to save 50,000 jobs
AFP, Sydney
The Australian government Saturday unveiled a four-Jjillion-dollar (2.6-billion-US) stimulus plan for the building industry, taking its spending to combat the global economic crisis to 40 billion dollars.
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said the global credit crunch meant some cash-strapped foreign banks would withdraw their support for existing Australian projects, placing up to 50,000 construction jobs in jeopardy.
"The government will not sit idly by and watch these jobs and small- and medium-size businesses be wiped out by fluctuations in global credit markets, " Rudd said.
The prime minister stressed that the "extraordinary" initiative did not reflect the health of Australia's banking system.
"The banking sector remains well capitalised and Australia has withstood the impact of the global crisis better than many of its international counterparts," he said.
"However, Australia is not immune from the global crisis and the actions being announced today will help shore up our system against ongoing uncertainty.
Japan to offer public funds to non-financial firms
AFP, Tokyo
The Japanese government plans to provide public funds for industries beyond the banking sector in a bid to support non-financial firms hit by the economic crisis, news reports said on Saturday.
Japan has so far formed a system to inject capital into banks, but the proposed framework would be the first of its kind specifically to assist non-financial firms, the Nikkei business daily and Kyodo News said.
By casting a broader safety net, the government aims to help companies bounce back from sluggish earnings and encourage private banks to provide loans for cash-strapped firms, the daily said.
Under the framework, the government-run Development Bank of Japan will purchase preferred stock to be issued by companies whose earnings are deteriorating. Kyodo said, quoting sources.
The government plans to secure several hundred billion yen (several billion dollars) for the framework by March, while considering raising the funds to a few trillion yen by March next year, the Nikkei said.