BYD shares fall on profit warning

13 July 2011 Last updated at 05:22 GMT BYD has been trying to boost its sales by introducing new electric and hybrid car models Shares of the Chinese car and battery maker BYD have fallen at the stock exchanges in Hong Kong and Shenzhen, after the company issued a profit warning.

BYD said its profit for the first half of the year could plunge by as much as 95% because of a drop in car sales.

BYD's shares dipped by as much as 6.7% in Hong Kong.

The company said the end of tax incentives for small cars in China had hit demand for its vehicles.

BYD revealed that its profit for the first six months of the year is likely to be between 121m yuan ($18.7m; ?11.7m) and 363m yuan, compared with 2.4bn yuan during the same period last year.

Uncertain times?

BYD's problems are not just confined to falling car sales, its other business units have also witnessed a recent slump.

The company said that sales of components that it makes for mobile telephone handsets and its assembly business also declined during the first half of the year, as one of its major customers deferred orders.

Last month, BYD reported that its first quarter profit dropped by 84%, compared to the same period last year.

Analysts said that given the company's recent performance, there may be more tough times ahead.

"It's below my expectation and there is a chance that they make a loss in the second quarter," said Steven Man of Samsung Securities.

Billionaire US investor Warren Buffett's company MidAmerican Energy, holds a 9.9% stake in BYD.

The renowned American investor, who made his fortune from the investment firm Berkshire Hathaway, is dubbed the Sage of Omaha.

View the original article here

IMF warning over economic risks

17 June 2011 Last updated at 13:59 GMT Problems in Greece could spread throughout the eurozone, the IMF warns The International Monetary Fund has warned that the risks facing the world economy have increased.

The fund said it was concerned about the continuing Greek debt crisis, the arguments over US deficit plans and the need to curb growth in Asia.

But it said it expected global growth to remain on track, though it lowered its forecasts for the US and UK.

The IMF predicted that the world economy would grow at a rate of 4.3% in 2011 and 4.5% in 2012.

The fund called for greater political leadership in dealing with the eurozone debt crisis and the budget crisis in the US.

"You cannot afford to have a world economy where these important decisions are postponed, because you're really playing with fire," said Jose Vinals, director of the IMF monetary and capital markets department.

The IMF's latest forecasts came as it updated its assessments of financial stability, country finances and the global economy. Its last review was in April.

Greek debt

The fund warned that the continuing Greek debt crisis could destabilise the global financial system.

Many analysts believe Greece will not be able to pay back all the money it has borrowed.

"I don't think there is a question over whether Greece is going to default, it is just a question of whether it is an orderly or disorderly one," says George Magnus, senior economic adviser at UBS.

The IMF warned that if Greece was unable to pay its debts, other countries such as Spain or Portugal may also be affected.

European banks which lent money to these countries would in turn lose out.

"In a serious market event, a shock could be transmitted beyond the eurozone", warned the IMF's financial stability report.

It called on the leaders of European governments to implement long-term policies to prevent further problems.

At the same time, the IMF warned that European banks had not yet built up sufficient capital to withstand a further economic shock.

"Markets may become disorderly if political developments derail momentum on fiscal consolidation and financial repair," the fund warned.

US and Japan

The IMF also highlighted debt problems outside the eurozone.

Federal Reserve chief Ben Bernanke has called on US lawmakers to raise the debt ceiling

Japan is struggling to cut its spending in the aftermath of the earthquake and tsunami.

In the US, the fund highlighted the "political stalemate" over how to tackle the deficit.

The fund lowered its growth forecasts for the US for the next two years from 2.7% to 2.5% in 2011 and from 2.9% to 2.7% in 2012, and it also highlighted renewed weakness in the housing market as a risk.

Economic growth

In the so-called "core" European countries, such as France and Germany, growth has exceeded expectations.

The IMF raised its 2011 growth forecast for Germany to 3.2% from 2.5%.

This may help to mitigate some of the problems faced by other countries in the eurozone.

The fund pushed up its 2011 forecast for the eurozone as a whole to 2% from 1.6%.

There are worries the Chinese property market may be overheating

In the UK, the fund downgraded its growth forecast for 2011 to 1.5% from 1.7%.

However, it endorsed efforts to cut the deficit, describing the plans as "on track".

Outside Europe, the fund said it expected economic growth in developing countries to remain strong.

This, in turn, presents a risk of overheating - where economies grow too fast leading to a rapid contraction later.

"Too much capital may be moving too quickly to emerging markets," the IMF warned, pointing to higher inflation in some countries.

Property prices in China have also risen sharply posing the risk of a sharp downturn.

The three IMF reports highlight the uncertainty over the economic outlook

UBS's Mr Magnus said: "The standard [IMF] economic forecast is based on all sorts of assumptions, but that is the point. We are being treated to a succession of random and extreme events, which are difficult to predict."

View the original article here

Bomb warning received in London

16 May 2011 Last updated at 18:51 GMT Streets around the Mall were shut for five hours on Monday morning A bomb threat for London has been issued by Irish dissidents in the first coded warning outside Northern Ireland in 10 years, officials say.

Whitehall officials said the call with the coded warning came from a number in the Irish Republic on Sunday evening.

The threat level for Northern Ireland-related terrorism, which stands at severe, has not been changed.

Streets around the Mall were closed on Monday morning in a security alert which police said was unrelated.

The warning comes ahead of the Queen's historic visit to the Republic of Ireland on Tuesday, amid a massive security operation.

Vigilance urged

The Metropolitan Police said the threat was not specific regarding location or time.

A Scotland Yard spokesman said in a statement: "All officers have been advised to be highly vigilant to ensure the safety of London."

The public were urged to go about their normal business but to look out for "unusual activity or behaviour".

Earlier on Monday, The Mall and Carlton House Terrace were closed after a security alert was sparked by a break-in at Carlton Gardens.

The break-in is thought to have taken place at 2 Carlton Gardens, which houses the Institute for Government think tank.

That is adjacent to the foreign secretary's residence, where William Hague is believed to have been at the time.

'Within the know'

Pictures from the scene showed a van of search dogs, and the Met's underwater and confined spaces search team.

Roads around Northumberland Avenue were also closed while a bag was destroyed in a controlled explosion. The roads have now re-opened.

BBC security correspondent Frank Gardner said that the call with the coded bomb threat "was not directly related to the break-in near the foreign secretary's house in Carlton Gardens or the abandoned suitcase near Trafalgar Square, but both were taken very seriously in the light of the bomb threat."

BBC security correspondent Gordon Corera said the level of security in the Republic of Ireland would make it difficult for dissidents to disrupt the Queen's trip there.

"There was always a concern that timed with the visit there was the possibility of something happening in Northern Ireland, or perhaps in Britain," he said.

'Real, serious threat'

The former security minister, Lord West, said that if a coded message was being used, then it would have come from someone "within the know, within the circle".

He added: "We know very well that this very, very tiny number of dissidents who can cause mayhem way beyond the scale of the numbers there, are absolutely set on trying to revert to the bloodshed, mayhem and bloody massacres of the past."

A Home Office spokesman said the UK faced a "real and serious threat from terrorism".

"The threat level to Great Britain from Northern Irish-related terrorism remains at substantial, which means that an attack is a strong possibility.

"There is a continuing need for vigilance and the public should report any suspicious activity to the police."

View the original article here