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International Business News
Toyota financial unit seeks public funds
/UP, Tokyo
Crisis-hit Japanese auto giant Toyota Motor has asked for a government loan to help its financial unit ride out the credit crunch, an official said Tuesday.
Toyota Financial Services, which provides loans to car buyers, is in consultations with the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) but the size of the loan has not been decided, company official Mio Sugito told AFP
"The move is aimed at diversifying our financial resources as the international financial market is getting tighter, especially in the United States," Sugito said.
The Nikkei business daily and other media reported that Toyota's wholly-owned financial subsidiary is asking for about 200 billion yen (two billion dollars).
They said the money would be used to support its operations in the United States.
The move comes amid concerns that firms are finding it increasingly hard to raise funds from distressed markets and cash-strapped banks.
Analysts, however, said Toyota does not face an immediate cash crunch like its US rivals such as General Motors.
"This not like the case of GM," said Yasuaki Iwamoto, auto analyst at Okasan Securities.
EU won't rule out downgrading economic forecasts
AFP, Brussels
EU Monetary Affairs Commissioner Joaquin Almunia refused to rule out Tuesday further downgrades to the European economic outlook due to the impact of the economic crisis.
On January 19, the European Commission estimated that the eurozone economy would shrink by 1.9 percent this year while the 27-nation European Union would see a contraction in the order of 1.8 percent.
It forecast that Europe would return to growth in 2010 with economic expansion of 0.4 percent among the 16 countries using the euro single currency, and 0.5 percent intheEU.
"When we presented the forecasts on January 19,1 said the risks are broadly balanced," Almunia said at the European Policy Centre think-tank.
"Now I can say downside risks are bigger," he said.
Almunia also did not rule out the possibility that EU governments may have to ramp up their economic stimulus plans if existing packages fail to snap Europe out of an increasingly dire recession.
European governments are ploughing hundreds of billions of euros into their economies in hope of reviving activity, but economic data keep going from bad to worse while their budget deficits balloon in the meantime.
HK tycoons back HSBC cash grab despite stock plunge
AFP, Hong Kong
HSBC shares plunged Tuesday after the banking giant asked shareholders for a 17.8 billion US dollar cash boost, but Hong Kong's powerful tycoons insisted the firm remained a good long-term bet.
The bank’s share price slumped 18.8 percent to 46.25 Hong Kong dollars (5.93 US) in Tuesday trading in Hong Kong, after falling more than 18 percent in London overnight.
The collapse came after the bank on Monday reported a 70 percent tumble in annual net profit last year, mainly due to the dire performance of its US unit.
It also asked shareholders to back a huge rights issue, worth 17.8 billion US dollars, in an effort to shore up its balance sheet.
Despite its worse-than-expected results, many of Hong Kong's richest investors believed the rights issue, priced at 28 Hong Kong dollars, was a great bargain.
Allan Zeman, the developer behind Hong Kong's most famous nightlife district, said he interrupted a trip to Thailand to call his investment agent to subscribe to the offer.
Luxury piano firm turns to furniture in crisis
AFP, Hradec Kralove, Czech Republic
The global economic crisis has forced world-renowned Czech piano maker Petrof to hit the soft pedal and switch production from grands to lacquered kitchen furniture.
"At the time of a crisis, people think about other things than buying a new piano. That's normal," said Zuzana Ceralova-Petrofova, president of the piano manufacturer founded in 1864 by her ancestor Antonin Petrof (1839-1915).
By July, roughly 200 of Petrof's 390 employees will be forced to leave the plant situated on the outskirts of Hradec Kralove, a city about 100 kilometres (62 miles) cast of Prague.
Famous for its strictly manual production which has pulled prices way above the average mark, Petrof has in recent years produced about 7,000 pianos annually, mostly forexports.
But orders from Europe, North America and Asia have gone dccrescendo.