Two men carry suitcases containing the flight recorders from the Ethiopian jet into the French air accident investigation authority in Le Bourget, north of Paris. (Source: AP Photo/Christophe Ena) PARIS: French investigators were examining the black boxes from the Boeing 737 MAX aircraft that crashed in Ethiopia on Thursday (Mar 14), as the ban on the model went worldwide after President Donald Trump added the US to countries that have grounded the aircraft. France's BEA air safety agency confirmed it has received the recorders from the plane that crashed shortly after takeoff from Addis Ababa on Sunday, killing all 157 people aboard. BEA investigators will try to retrieve information from the cockpit voice and flight data recorders, which were damaged in the disaster. Thousands of kilometres away, distraught families were demanding answers as they visited the deep black crater where the plane smashed into a field outside the capital, disintegrating on impact. The plane was less … [Read more...] about France probes Boeing black boxes as jets grounded worldwide
Black market records
Boeing 737 MAX safety record questioned after two tragedies
The two tragedies now raise questions about the safety of a model that is crucial to the U.S. giant's future plans. On Sunday, the 157 passengers and crew members of a 737 MAX operated by Ethiopian Airlines were killed. It was the same model as the plane that crashed in Indonesia in October, claiming the lives of the 189 people it carried. Only the flight data and cockpit conversation contained in the aircraft's two black boxes can provide tangible evidence of what may have caused the latest accident -- technical problems, pilot error or a combination of factors. "The pilot mentioned that he had difficulties and he wants to return. He was given clearance" to turn around," Ethiopian Airlines chief executive Tewolde GebreMariam told reporters in Addis Ababa. Weather conditions were good in the Ethiopian capital at the time of the flight. Coincidence or repeat problem? While Teal Group expert Richard Aboulafia said it was "too soon to make any kind of meaningful comment," another expert … [Read more...] about Boeing 737 MAX safety record questioned after two tragedies
Record US$3.1 million paid in New Year”s tuna auction at Japan”s new market
A Japanese sushi entrepreneur paid a record US$3.1 million for a giant tuna on Saturday (Jan 5) as Tokyo's new fish market, which replaced the world-famous Tsukiji late last year, held its first pre-dawn New Year's auction. President of sushi restaurant chain Sushi-Zanmai, Kiyoshi Kimura (R), displays a 278kg bluefin tuna at his main restaurant in Tokyo on Jan 5, 2019. (Photo: AFP/Kazuhiro Nogi) Bidding stopped at a whopping ¥333.6 million for the enormous 278kg fish - an endangered species - that was caught off Japan's northern coast. Self-styled "Tuna King" Kiyoshi Kimura paid the top price, which doubled the previous record of ¥155 million also paid by him in 2013. "It's the best tuna. I was able to buy a delicious, super fresh tuna," the sushi restaurant chain owner proudly told reporters. "The price was higher than originally thought, but I hope our customers will eat this excellent tuna," Kimura said after the auction. Tsukiji - the world's biggest fish market … [Read more...] about Record US$3.1 million paid in New Year”s tuna auction at Japan”s new market
European stock markets rally on Brexit deal, Italy budget hopes
Logo of the London Stock Exchange. The euro rose against the dollar but was down versus sterling. Oil prices rebounded meanwhile, after slumping Friday to the lowest levels in more than one year. Bitcoin extended its slide, dropping under US$4,000 to US$3,541.02 - the lowest level for 14 months. "Italian stocks have been the outperformer in Europe ... on reports that the government may consider reducing its deficit target in a bid to avert a disciplinary procedure in Brussels and a backlash in the markets," noted Craig Erlam, senior market analyst at Oanda trading group. "The pound is also a little higher ... after (British Prime Minister) Theresa May overcame the first, and smallest, hurdle to her Brexit deal getting over the line." May convened her cabinet and updated Britain's parliament on the newly-agreed Brexit deal Monday, as she begins the tricky task of selling the plan to her sceptical country. In Rome, Italy's populist government appears open to reducing its draft budget … [Read more...] about European stock markets rally on Brexit deal, Italy budget hopes
Most listed Vietnamese companies in the black
By Minh Son  November 13, 2018 | 09:11 am GMT+7 Vietcombank's net profit grew 15.1 percent from January to September 2018. Photo by Reuters/Kham Eighty-six percent of 845 businesses listed on Vietnam’s stock markets made profits in the first nine months of 2018. According to stock market database Fiinpro, a subsidiary of financial information corporation StoxPlus, these 845 businesses are those that have announced business results as of Nov.7. The banking sector, consisting of 17 listed banks, topped the market with a profit growth of 39 percent, lower than the 50 percent plus growth they recorded in the first half of this year. Three banks that had the highest credit growth rate since the beginning of the year are TPBank at 16.1 percent, HDBank (15.7 percent) and Vietcombank (15.1 percent). The finance sector came second in profit growth at 32 percent, and industrial services third at 31 percent. Telecommunications recorded the sharpest decline in growth … [Read more...] about Most listed Vietnamese companies in the black
Chợ Rẫy Hospital doctor devotes self to the poor
Viet Nam News HCM CITY — Lê Minh Hiển, head of Community Service Office in HCM City’s Chợ Rẫy Hospital, wakes up early every weekend and goes to nearby provinces to give free screenings to poor and underprivileged children. Hiển has spent a decade giving free surgery to more than 10,000 poor patients, including many children with congenital heart defects and cleft palate, using donation money which has now reached VNĐ80 billion (US$3.4 million). He said after dozens of his trips to provinces, including Bến Tre, Trà Vinh and Hậu Giang, the thing that haunted him most was the eyes of children born in poverty and disease, he was quoted by the Tuổi trẻ (Youth) newspaper as saying. “The ill children were born while their parents struggle to make a living,” he said, adding that some parents did not even have enough rice to feed their babies.. Hiển said he once found a 12-year-old-girl with … [Read more...] about Chợ Rẫy Hospital doctor devotes self to the poor
Capital market in need of FIE boost
Thin capitalisation is preventing banks from offering sufficient long-term loans to the local business community, Photo: Le Toan Thin capitalisation Many Vietnamese businesses are struggling with a debt-to-equity ratio that is too high to thrive at present. Some will eventually manage the high cost of borrowing to make earnings, while others could be making losses for a year, hoping to pull through in the next. Deputy Prime Minister Vuong Dinh Hue, at the Vietnam Economic Forum on the Capital-Finance Market held in Hanoi last week, cited data by the General Statistics Office of Vietnam showing that 53 per cent of businesses operating in Vietnam made no profit in the year ending on December 31, 2016, and they thus could not fulfil their corporate tax obligations to the country. Although the proportion of those making a profit for the year had significantly improved from the 30 per cent recorded in previous years, Hue nevertheless asked the question: “For an economy in which up … [Read more...] about Capital market in need of FIE boost
Capital market faces imbalances
Viet Nam News HÀ NỘI — The Việt Nam’s capital market is facing a concerns in the imbalance between the credit market and the capital market. The statement was made by Deputy Prime Minister Vương Đình Huệ during a forum held in Hà Nội on Tuesday, discussing challenges and solutions to expand the capital – financial market of Việt Nam. Addressing the event, part of the Việt Nam Economic Forum, the Deputy PM said it is necessary to look into the imbalance between the credit market and the capital market, between credit and other added services in banks’ credit activities, and between the short-term and long-term markets, particularly the bond market. He said 53 per cent of businesses were not making profit at the end of 2016, saying that one of the reasons for this is the lack of capital. “Many companies depend on bank loans to operate, so their financial expense is very high, plus other … [Read more...] about Capital market faces imbalances
Pepper prices hit record low, hard to recover
Pepper prices dropped to below VND60,000 ($2.6) a kilogram last week but experts warned a decrease to VND50,000 per kilogram equal to production price. At present, pepper is sold over VND60,000 a kilogram. Willem Scato van Walt Meijer, general director of Nedspice Processing Vietnam, said pepper output had been increasing sharply since high prices kept maintaining in a long time, resulting in increasing farming land to 152,000 hectare and three-fold quantity of 180,000 tons from 2010 to 2017. Subsequently, pepper became one of the agricultural products with export revenue of $1 billion annually. The decline of pepper prices is mostly caused by oversupply and overproduction. Pepper prices have gone down again because pepper farming land has increased from 420,000 to 600,000 hectare globally. According to the International Pepper Community (IPC), there was a year-on-year increase of 9 percent or 40,000 tons in the world’s pepper quantity of 472,000 tons in 2017 . Meanwhile demand … [Read more...] about Pepper prices hit record low, hard to recover
Feburary CPI at 0.73%
The consumer price index (CPI) increased in February by an estimated 0.73 per cent against January and 3.15 per cent against February 2017 as local consumers boosted purchases ahead of the Tet holiday, which fell in mid-February and prompted buying demand to spike. Image from tapchitaichinh.vn The index has risen 2.9 per cent on average in the first two months of this year against the same period last year, the General Statistics Office (GSO) said in a report. Among eleven goods and services in the CPI basket, nine increased, including food and catering services, by 1.53 per cent, transportation 0.79 per cent, beverages and cigarettes 0.75 per cent, other goods and services 0.74 per cent, and culture, entertainment and tourism 0.72 per cent. Director of the GSO’s Price Statistics Department Ms. Do Thi Ngoc, attributed the hike to strong demand for food, beverages, cigarettes and electricity during Tet and massive rice purchase for exports to Indonesia and the … [Read more...] about Feburary CPI at 0.73%