Business briefs

Gold rises, platinum steady TAIPEI – Gold ticked up on Friday as a weaker dollar and thin liquidity due to holidays lifted prices, while platinum steadied after a volatile week that saw it touch a new record peak on speculative buying.

Spot gold had risen to US$632,30/633,30 an ounce, up from US$630,20/631,20 late in London. Gold often moves in the opposite direction to the US dollar and is generally seen as a hedge against inflation.Spot platinum was at $1,165 an ounce, roughly steady with US$1,163 in London, where it had gained as much as 1,8 per cent, capping a volatile week in which it hit a new record peak of US$1 395.Sony recalls digital cameras TOKYO – Sony Corp.said Friday it would recall eight types of Cyber-shot digital cameras due to a defect, dealing a fresh blow to the company’s reputation for quality as it struggles to get back on its feet.Sony said users may have problems viewing images when trying to take photographs due to a glitch with the image sensor.It declined to say how many digital cameras would be affected by the recall.The affected cameras – DSC-F88, DSC-M1, DSC-T1, DSC-T11, DSC-T3, DSC-T33, DSC-U40 and DSC-U50 – were sold at home and overseas between September 2003 and January 2005, the electronics giant said.Firms pour more into online advertising LONDON – British firms are planning to invest more in online advertising as households increasingly use the Internet for routine purchases, a new survey said Friday.Online spending on marketing will rise by 50 per cent from 2,2 billion pounds this year to 3,3 billion pounds in 2009, said the survey by the Internet search group Google and Confederation of British Industry.The firms surveyed are likely to spend nearly 13 billion pounds in three years in Internet-based technology, up from the current level of about 10 billion pounds a year.In Britain, 77 per cent, and 44 per cent, had broad-band Internet access in the first quarter of 2006, according to Eurostat statistics published this month.That compares to 75 and 32 per cent respectively on average in the EU.Law not changing for Qantas SYDNEY – Australian Prime Minister John Howard on Friday ruled out changing the law in order to prevent iconic national airline Qantas being broken up if a multi-billion dollar takeover bid succeeds.Howard said he did not want to see Qantas split up but that he would not introduce new laws specifically to stop that happening.”There is not a case for breaking up Qantas but there’s also not a case for governments over-reacting to moves in a market,” Howard said.Qantas said Wednesday it had been approached by Australia’s biggest investment bank, Macquarie, and US-based private equity firm Texas Pacific Group in a deal potentially worth US$8,4 billion.Shipment of US beef banned in South Korea SEOUL – South Korea on Friday banned the first shipment of US beef to arrive following a three-year ban, after a small piece of bone was found in violation of an agreement to combat mad cow disease.The agriculture ministry banned a shipment of 8,9 tonnes of beef which arrived October 30 after a bone fragment was discovered in one package.Kang Mun-Il, chief of the National Veterinary Research and Quarantine Service, said a peanut-sized bone fragment was discovered.Under a deal between the two countries in January, US beef imports will be banned entirely should SRM be discovered.A second shipment of 3,6 tonnes of beef is now awaiting inspection at Incheon airport.Nampa-Reuters-AFP-APGold often moves in the opposite direction to the US dollar and is generally seen as a hedge against inflation.Spot platinum was at $1,165 an ounce, roughly steady with US$1,163 in London, where it had gained as much as 1,8 per cent, capping a volatile week in which it hit a new record peak of US$1 395.Sony recalls digital cameras TOKYO – Sony Corp.said Friday it would recall eight types of Cyber-shot digital cameras due to a defect, dealing a fresh blow to the company’s reputation for quality as it struggles to get back on its feet.Sony said users may have problems viewing images when trying to take photographs due to a glitch with the image sensor.It declined to say how many digital cameras would be affected by the recall.The affected cameras – DSC-F88, DSC-M1, DSC-T1, DSC-T11, DSC-T3, DSC-T33, DSC-U40 and DSC-U50 – were sold at home and overseas between September 2003 and January 2005, the electronics giant said.Firms pour more into online advertising LONDON – British firms are planning to invest more in online advertising as households increasingly use the Internet for routine purchases, a new survey said Friday.Online spending on marketing will rise by 50 per cent from 2,2 billion pounds this year to 3,3 billion pounds in 2009, said the survey by the Internet search group Google and Confederation of British Industry.The firms surveyed are likely to spend nearly 13 billion pounds in three years in Internet-based technology, up from the current level of about 10 billion pounds a year.In Britain, 77 per cent, and 44 per cent, had broad-band Internet access in the first quarter of 2006, according to Eurostat statistics published this month.That compares to 75 and 32 per cent respectively on average in the EU. Law not changing for Qantas SYDNEY – Australian Prime Minister John Howard on Friday ruled out changing the law in order to prevent iconic national airline Qantas being broken up if a multi-billion dollar takeover bid succeeds.Howard said he did not want to see Qantas split up but that he would not introduce new laws specifically to stop that happening.”There is not a case for breaking up Qantas but there’s also not a case for governments over-reacting to moves in a market,” Howard said.Qantas said Wednesday it had been approached by Australia’s biggest investment bank, Macquarie, and US-based private equity firm Texas Pacific Group in a deal potentially worth US$8,4 billion.Shipment of US beef banned in South Korea SEOUL – South Korea on Friday banned the first shipment of US beef to arrive following a three-year ban, after a small piece of bone was found in violation of an agreement to combat mad cow disease.The agriculture ministry banned a shipment of 8,9 tonnes of beef which arrived October 30 after a bone fragment was discovered in one package.Kang Mun-Il, chief of the National Veterinary Research and Quarantine Service, said a peanut-sized bone fragment was discovered.Under a deal between the two countries in January, US beef imports will be banned entirely should SRM be discovered.A second shipment of 3,6 tonnes of beef is now awaiting inspection at Incheon airport.Nampa-Reuters-AFP-AP