Financial Freedom. Best business news.

Japanese machinery orders tumbled 10.4 percent last quarter, matching the biggest drop on record, as manufacturers cut investment plans in anticipation the global slowdown will stifle overseas demand.

The decline in orders, an indicator of capital spending in the next three to six months, matched a record drop set 10 years ago, the Cabinet Office said today in Tokyo.

Falling profit for Japan's exporters has driven the Nikkei 225 Stock Average down 44 percent this year and forced some of the country's biggest companies to cut costs. Toyota Motor Corp. last week forecast earnings will drop by almost 70 percent this fiscal year and said it plans to lay off workers and scale back investment.

“The deterioration in demand has become clearer and that's eroding companies' willingness to invest,'' said Yoshimasa Maruyama, a senior economist at BNP Paribas Securities Japan Ltd. in Tokyo. “We're going to see companies make deeper cuts.''

The yen traded at 99.21 per dollar at 9:57 a.m. in Tokyo, from 98.95 before the report was published.

On a monthly basis, orders for Japanese machinery rose 5.5 percent in September, an increase the government described as a “weak rebound.'' The gains ended a three-month losing streak that was the worst since the country's 2001 recession.

Economists predicted a 5.2 percent rebound they said provided little relief amid an overall slowdown in corporate investment.

26-Year Low

The Bank of Japan, which last month cut its key interest rate to 0.3 percent after stocks fell to a 26-year low, forecasts that business spending will remain sluggish for the next several quarters Faxless pay advance. The slowdown in Japan's export markets and the 8 perent appreciation of the yen since October will create a “severe'' earnings environment, the bank said.

The International Monetary Fund expects the economies of the U.S., Japan, and euro zone to shrink next year.

Governments and central banks are taking steps to spur demand. The U.S., Europe, South Korea and India have lowered borrowing costs in the past two weeks and China last night unveiled a $586 billion stimulus plan to prop up growth.

Toyota expects its earnings this fiscal year will be the lowest since 1999. President Katsuaki Watanabe, who started his career at the carmaker by cutting costs at the company cafeteria, said last week he'll head an emergency committee to trim spending and review the timing and scale of new projects. The company will also layoff 3,000 contract workers by the end of March.

Global Slowdown

Today's report is another sign the global slowdown has pulled the world's second-largest economy into a recession. Manufacturers said last month they plan to cut production in November. Economists say conditions may deteriorate in coming months after the U.S. economy suffered its biggest decline since 2001 in the third quarter.

“U.S. economic activity slowed significantly in September and October, which may affect Japan's exports,'' said Chotaro Morita, head of fixed-income strategy research at Barclays Capital in Tokyo. “We will probably see the impact materializing from the November data.''

Source

The Bishop Museum announced three new members to its board of directors.

Sanne Higgins, of the Higgins Family Foundation; Anton Krucky, co-founder, president and CEO of Tissue Genesis Inc.; and Gulab Watumull, a businessman and philanthropist, were all named to the board.

“These board members are all well connected in the community and have very skilled backgrounds,” said Timothy Johns, president and CEO of Bishop Museum bad credit payday loans. “They are a great addition to our current board and I look forward to working with them.”

Museum officials also recognized outgoing board member David Hulihee for his nine years of service, during which he was chairman for three years.

Source

Jet fuel prices continue to plague AirTran Airways Inc., which reported a $107.1 million loss in the third quarter despite record revenues.

Orlando, Fla.-based AirTran (NYSE: AAI) said it earned a record $673 million in revenues, up 10.6 percent from the same quarter in 2007, but the price of jet fuel and losses associated with its fuel-hedging program, dragged the airline into the red.

The loss for the quarter amounted to $0.91 per diluted share. In the third quarter of 2007, AirTran earned $10.6 million in net income or $0.11 per diluted share.

"Although AirTran Airways posted record third quarter revenues, unprecedented fuel costs were a major challenge for our industry," said AirTran CEO Bob Fornaro, in a statement. "While we are extremely disappointed with our financial performance this quarter, we are taking dramatic steps to better position the airline competitively and to restore profitability.

AirTran, the second-largest carrier at Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport, said its fuel costs grew by $149 million over the same quarter in 2007, as its cost per gallon rose 63 percent from $2 americashadvance.25 to $3.67.

Jet fuel hedging, a bet placed on fuel prices to protect against dramatic swings, actually cost the airline $41.5 million, the carrier said.

Fornaro said in the release that the carrier would continue to cut capacity, sell aircraft and reducing costs.

AirTran cut capacity by almost 10 percent in September and said its capacity would be down by more than 6 percent in the fourth quarter. The carrier said it is looking to trim capacity by another 3 to 7 percent next year.

The low-cost carrier recently restructured its credit card processing contracts and has sold five 737-700 aircraft through September, with agreements to sell five more.

Source

South Korea plans to build 5 million homes over the next 10 years to bolster an economy that is facing a decline in consumer spending and a slowdown in export demand.

The project is estimated to cost about 12 trillion won ($10.6 billion) a year, the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs said on its Web site yesterday. The government will build an average 500,000 homes a year through 2018, including 300,000 annually in metropolitan Seoul.

Increased construction may buoy an industry that accounts for 18 percent of the economy and has been losing jobs since the fourth quarter of 2007. President Lee Myung Bak's six-month-old government, which has experienced a slump in popularity, announced plans this month to cut income taxes, build roads and ports and provide aid to small businesses.

“The government wants to protect the property market from seeing a drastic slump like the U.S.,'' said Ryu Seung Sun, an economist at HMC Investment Securities Co. in Seoul. “The measures are likely to help stabilize the housing market, but there's a risk this may result in an oversupply of homes.''

The $970 billion economy grew 4.8 percent last quarter, the slowest annual pace in more than a year, as consumers cut back on discretionary spending as living costs soared cheap payday loans. Construction investment shrank in the first two quarters of the year, according to a central bank report.

Popularity Decline

Voter support for the government halved to 24 percent from a 52 percent approval rating at the start of the Lee administration in March, according to a Chosun Ilbo newspaper poll on Aug. 25.

The government announced plans last week to spend 50 trillion won building roads, free economic zones and ports over the next five years. The administration on Sept. 1 said it will lower income taxes, provide aid to small business and remove some property taxes to spur economic growth.

“We need to continue supplying homes to meet an estimated annual demand for 500,000 homes and to stabilize the housing market,'' the ministry said in the statement. “There's also a need to help homeless people to own homes.''

Source

Stirling Sotheby’s International Realty plans to host a global auction of selected luxury homes and properties at Reunion, Bella Collina and Hammock Beach on Oct. 25.

Ginn Reunion Resort is a luxury golf community that features three signature golf courses designed by Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus and Tom Watson.

Hammock Beach is a luxury beachside resort on Florida’s east coast, featuring two championship golf courses designed by Jack Nicklaus and Tom Watson.

Bella Collina is a luxury lakeside community in Lake County that features a golf course designed by Nick Faldo.

More than 20 homes are expected to be auctioned.

“We believe this will be one of the most exciting auctions of the year,” said Roger Soderstrom, owner and founder of Stirling Sotheby’s International Realty, in a written release us fast cash. “We are expecting a great deal of interest from buyers across the globe, especially in the United Kingdom.”

Source

Alitalia’s (AZPIa.MI: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) adviser will soon present its rescue plan for the airline to British Airways (BAY.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), considered by Italy as a possible foreign partner for the bankrupt airline, an executive told a newspaper.

“Soon we will present the plan to British Airways as well,” an executive at Intesa Sanpaolo, (ISP.MI: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) the Italian bank behind the plan, said in an interview published in business daily Il Sole 24 Ore on Saturday.

Gaetano Micciche, who heads the bank’s corporate and investment banking division, has already presented the plan to Air France-KLM (AIRF.PA: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and Lufthansa (LHAG.DE: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), and he said he had got a positive response from both airlines.

British Airways, which has agreed to a tie-up with Iberia (IBLA.MC: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and American Airlines (AMR.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), would not consider a partnership with Alitalia, an industry source earlier said cash advance loan no fax.

Air France-KLM, whose takeover of Alitalia fell apart this year over union opposition, however has said it is ready to take a minority stake in a revived carrier.

Lufthansa, which is also looking at Austrian Airlines (AUAV.VI: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), has always said Italy was an important market for it.

Finding a foreign alliance for Alitalia after its restructuring is considered key for the success of the rescue plan, which foresees Italian investors buying its best parts and relaunching it as a smaller, more efficient carrier.

Intesa Sanpaolo’s chief executive on Saturday reiterated — as the government has also said — that a partnership would never lead to a foreign airline getting a majority stake. 

Read more

Could Austin be losing its edge as a mecca for singles?

The Capital City ranks 14th on Forbes.com’s 2008 list of the Best Cities for Singles. That’s down two places from the 2007 list, but Austin remains in the top 20.

According to Forbes, 29 percent of Austin’s population of nearly 1 million is single. To develop the list, Forbes ranked the 40 largest cities in the country in a series of categories, including number of singles, nightlife, culture, cost of living alone, job growth and, of course, overall coolness faxless cash advance. Information came from sources including research firm Harris Interactive, the U.S. Census Bureau, AOL CityGuide and Moody’s.

Austin ranked first in job creation, but lagged in other areas like culture (ranked 36th) and nightlife (35th).

Coming out on top this year was Atlanta, followed by San Francisco and Dallas in second and third, respectively.

To see the full story, click here.

Source

A San Francisco company has purchased LopezGarcia Group Inc., one of Dallas’ most recognizable engineering firms.

URS Corp. (NYSE: URS) bought the 200-employee firm, said Wendy Lopez, co-founder and CEO of LopezGarcia, who will remain with the firm as leader of its Texas initiative with a title of vice president.

Both LopezGarcia and URS declined to disclose financial terms, although Lopez said it was an all-cash deal.

The LopezGarcia name is expected to disappear eventually, but for now the five LopezGarcia offices will answer the phones as URS/LopezGarcia. LopezGarcia has offices in Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston, Austin and Amarillo.

“We are about to celebrate 20 years in the business, and we’ve had a really good run,” Lopez said. “The company is doing great. There was no reason prompting us (to sell), but I see our industry changing, and the firms are getting bigger … and the projects are getting bigger.”

Lopez said the firm was having trouble growing beyond its regional size, and also saw the consolidation trend developing.

URS approached LopezGarcia, said Lopez, who said talks commenced about a possible merger about a year ago.

“Sometimes you are limited by your resources,” she said. “In a larger organization, it will create some larger opportunities for our employees. If someone wants to work in Hong Kong, we’ve got an office there.”

URS’ Vincent Provenza, senior vice president and regional business unit manager for URS Corp. in New Orleans, said URS wanted a bigger Texas presence, he said.

“URS has always felt that Texas, because of its quality of life and economy … would continue to grow in population and this growth in population would necessitate new infrastructure in power, transportation and water resources. These are all the things that URS focuses on.”

The state has been consistently a top issuer of government bonds, which are used to fund infrastructure projects credit report. In the first quarter of 2008, the state issued $11.1 billion in bonds, according to URS.

Provenza said URS looked at more than 100 firms to find one that shared its culture and focused on the state and local infrastructure market.

URS has had a presence in North Texas since the 1960s, mainly through acquistions of local firms. About a year ago, it began a Texas initiative to grow its clout in the Lone Star State. Its Texas projects have included work on a downtown Dallas Area Rapid Transit line, planning work for the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport and environmental planning for the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, a state agency.

Lopez said she’ll lead URS’ Texas initiative going forward, working to raise the firm’s profile in the state to grab more market share.

LopezGarcia’s projects have included the mechanical, electrical and plumbing design services for the new Dallas Cowboys stadium, program management services for D/FW Airport and engineering design services for U.S. 290 in Houston. In July, Lopez was named one of the area’s most influential women in business by the Dallas Business Journal.

URS will move out of its offices at 3010 LBJ Freeway in the Graystone Centre and move into the InfoMart, where LopezGarcia offices. No layoffs are expected, Lopez said.