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Thursday September 20th 2001 |
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Business this week September 20th 2001 From The Economist print edition
As America's stockmarkets reopened after the terrorist attacks, the Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank both cut interest rates by half a percentage point, to 3.0% and 3.75% respectively. Central banks in Japan, Canada, Britain and elsewhere joined in cutting rates, hoping to maintain the stability of the world's financial system. The Bank of Japan also relaxed monetary policy, and intervened to prop up the dollar. Despite these actions, Wall Street's reopening saw the Dow Jones Industrial Average drop by 7.1% on the first day's trading; the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite fell by 6.8%. America's stockmarkets continued to slide later in the week. European markets, which had suffered steep drops in the previous week, held up better.
See article: Back, if not bullish
America's airlines resumed business but cut some 20% of flights anticipating a severe drop in business, and announced thousands of job losses. The Bush administration is offering a $5 billion cash subsidy, plus loan guarantees, to help the industry.
See article: Uncharted airspace
Airline shares collapsed around the world as the likely effects of travellers deserting the airways prompted more cuts in schedules. Europe's airlines met the European Commission to discuss emergency help. Boeing said that up to 30,000 jobs would go at its commercial-aircraft division by the end of next year, some 30% of the total. Orders for new aircraft are expected to fall rapidly as passengers stay on the ground in the wake of the terrorist attacks. Insurance companies also suffered as the cost of claims resulting from the terrorist attack became apparent. General Electric issued a profit warning for the third quarter; a subsidiary, Employers Reinsurance, is expected to lose around $600m after the destruction of the World Trade Centre.
See article: What's the damage?
Travel and tourism seemed to be heading for trouble. Accor, Europe's biggest hotel group, saw its shares plunge and issued a profit warning, despite buoyant first-half results. The company is to cut costs and investment to cope with falling custom. China trades up
The World Trade Organisation agreed terms for China's entry to the body after 15 years of negotiations. A final stumbling-block over access to China's booming insurance market was fudged to ensure a deal. Taiwan was also granted immediate membership as a further condition of the deal. As expected, the IMF and World Bank meetings due to take place in Washington next week were cancelled. But governments insist that the trade summit in Doha, Qatar, in November will go ahead. Horst Köhler, the IMF's boss, said that its World Economic Outlook, to be published next week, will forecast that the world economy narrowly avoids a recession. Water, water everywhere
RWE, a German utility, offered nearly $4.6 billion for American Water Works, the country's biggest water company. Last year, RWE bought Britain's Thames Water as part of its international expansion plans.
See article: Unquenched thirst
Vodafone, the world's biggest mobile-phone operator, launched a bid to take full control of Japan Telecom by raising its 45% in the company to 66.7%, at a cost of up to $2 billion. Japan Telecom owns 54% of J-Phone, Japan's third-largest mobile operator. Interbrew, a Belgian brewer, was ordered by Britain's government to sell Carling, Britain's most popular beer, as the price for approval of its £2.3 billion ($3.5 billion) takeover of Bass Brewers last year. Interbrew had appealed against a previous ruling that it should sell all of Bass's British brewing interests. Pirelli is seeking to renegotiate a euro7 billion ($6 billion) deal to take control of Telecom Italia through the purchase of a 23% stake in Olivetti from Bell, an investment company. Olivetti's shares have crumbled to a quarter of their price since the deal was agreed. Pirelli, with partners Benetton, won favourable loans worth euro1 billion ($922) from Bell, plus a further euro1 billion from banks that were involved. SwedBank and SEB, Sweden's third- and fourth-largest banks respectively, abandoned a merger. The European Commission had demanded more concessions than the pair were prepared to make.
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