Japan’s Sony Corp will likely suffer an annual operating loss of about $1.1 billion, its first such loss in 14 years, due to sluggish sales and a stronger yen, a person with knowledge of the matter said.
BHP Billiton, the world’s biggest miner, braced for a very uncertain future as it reported a 2.2 percent increase in first-half profits, aided by a last burst of Chinese demand growth.
The Bank of England said it may start buying commercial paper next week through its asset purchase facility in measures to improve companies’ access to credit as interest rates approach zero.
Bank of America Corp was rescued by the U.S. government on Friday through a $20 billion bailout and a guarantee for almost $100 billion of potential losses on toxic assets to cushion the blow from a deteriorating balance sheet at Merrill Lynch & Co, its recently acquired brokerage.
The number of Americans collecting unemployment benefits surged to a 26-year high as the labor market worsened in a yearlong recession. Initial jobless claims unexpectedly fell by 24,000 to 467,000 in the week that ended Jan. 3, the lowest level in almost three months, the Labor Department said today in Washington. The total number of people getting benefits rose a week earlier to 4.6 million, the most since 1982.
Borrowing was slightly less expensive Monday after Britain unveiled a new bank rescue plan aimed at increasing the availability of credit and boosting bank lending. Under the plan, the British Treasury will set up an insurance program, called the Asset Protection Scheme. The program will attempt to protect banks against further losses and guarantee bank assets backed by mortgages and other loans.
