Just Economic Info

State Enterprises Minister Mustafa Abubakar said that state-owned oil firm Pertamina was able to increase its oil and gas lifting from 182,000 barrels per day (bpd) to 200,000 bpd by maximizing its existing oil and gas fields."I hope that Pertamina would maximize the production of Cepu field which so far has not yet been fully exploited," the minister said here on Sunday.The minister said he had asked the board of commissioners...

The Indonesian and German governments held the first senior officials consultation meeting here on Monday to follow up the results of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono`s visit to Germany in December 2009.The meeting discussed efforts to promote bilateral cooperation in various fields for the benefit of the two peoples` welfare besides regional and global issues of common interests, the Indonesian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.Indonesia...

Indonesia and Singapore have agreed to form six working groups to intensify economic cooperation between the two countries.The agreement was reached at a Leaders` Retreat meeting for three hours between Indonesian president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Singapore`s prime minister Lee Hsien Loong at Botanic Garden here on Monday.At a press conference at Hotel Shangrila that evening President Yudhoyono said the working groups were...

A general meeting of shareholders agreed to inject Rp55.4 billion into Riau Airlines to improve the company`s performance and for buying more planes.President Commissioner of Riau Airlines Wan Syamsir Yus said after attending the general meeting of the airline company`s shareholders in Pekanbaru on Monday night that up to the end of December this year two planes will be used on hire-purchase basis in mid-June and early in July...

The Batam Authority will seek other developers to build private apartment houses if those who had been granted land permits still had not started building their projects for lack of profit reasons."We will tell them to return the permits so that we could give them to truly serious developers," Director of Workers` Residences and Social Development of the Batam Authority Fitrah Kamaruddin said in Batam on Monday.Right now it has...

The US National Basketball Association (NBA) has approved the sale of the New Jersey Nets franchise to Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov.Mr Prokhorov, whose fortune, according to Forbes magazine, stands at $13.4bn (£8.9bn), becomes the first non-North American owner in the league.The Nets lost 70 out of 82 games last season, including...

The number of people unemployed in the UK rose by 53,000 to 2.51 million during the three months to March, official figures have shown.The unemployment total is now at its highest level since December 1994.However, the total number of people claiming unemployment benefit fell in April by 27,100 to 1.52 million - a sharper fall than expected.The...

Microsoft is preparing to launch its latest weapon in its ongoing battle with Google.The software giant will launch its flagship product Office 2010 to businesses on 12 May.The latest version of the software has a free online component - called Office Web Apps.Analysts believe the web offering is a response to Google, which has been encroaching...

The German economy, Europe's largest, expanded 0.2% in the first quarter of 2010, beating forecasts of zero growth.Many analysts predicted German gross domestic product would stagnate in the quarter.The country's statistics office, Destatis, also revised growth upwards in the fourth quarter of 2009 to 0.2% from its first estimate of no growth.This...

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono must make a decision regarding the Donggi-Senoro gas field so that the US$3.7 million worth project could be continued, a legislator said.Lawmaker Sutan Bhatoegana of the Democrat Party Faction of the House of Reprsentatives (DPR) said here on Tuesday that the president had to taken over the problem."Vice President Boediono should take the Senoro gas field issue to a cabinet meeting so that the...

Thailand's total sales of vehicles in the first four months of 2010 (January-April) reached 223,361 units, up 58 per cent from the corresponding period last year, according to Mazda Sales (Thailand) Co. Toyota retained its rank as the top distributor with 92,406 units, up 53.3 per cent, followed by Isuzu with 46,071 units, up 43.8 per cent, Honda with 29,739 units, up 78.8 per cent, Nissan with 13,208 units, up 75 per cent, Mitsubishi...

British Airways cabin crew have "overwhelmingly rejected an offer" aimed at ending a long-running row over pay and conditions, Unite has said.The union said, with turnout of 71%, thousands had voted and there had been an 81% majority against the proposals offered by the airline.Unite had "strongly recommended" its members reject the offer,...

The pound was volatile on Friday after the UK general election proved inconclusive but recovered as leaders pledged to form a government.Sterling traded 0.2% higher against the dollar at $1.4789 having hit a 13-month low of $1.4475.It also clawed back some losses against the euro but was still 1.4% lower at 1.159 euros.The markets are concerned...

Moody's Corp disclosed on Friday that its credit rating unit could face enforcement action from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for allegedly misleading regulators in a 2007 application to remain a nationally recognized rating agency.Moody's said in a filing late on Friday that the SEC is mulling starting an administrative case and "cease-and-desist" proceedings, and that a so-called Wells Notice was received from...

Your parents were right. Money can't buy you happiness. That was the message from the Federal Reserve chairman on Saturday to graduates of the University of South Carolina."We all know that getting a better-paying job is one of the main reasons to go to college. ... But if you are ever tempted to go into a field or take a job only because...

Spain's economy emerged from recession after growing by 0.1% in the first three months of 2010, the country's central bank has said.The growth ended six successive quarters of contraction.Earlier this week, official figures showed Spain's jobless rate had hit 20% for the first time in nearly 13 years.Earlier this week, credit ratings agency...

Global stock markets have fallen sharply, amid investor fears that Greece's debt crisis could halt the global economic recovery.In the US, the Dow Jones index fell 0.7%, while France's Cac 40 closed down 4.6%, the UK's FTSE 100 shed 2.6% and Germany's Dax lost 3.3%.Japan's Nikkei index shed 3.1%, having fallen by 4.1% in morning trading.Sterling...

The central bank said the weakening rupiah level against the US dollar was "not worrying" because the reported figures were not the currency's fundamental rate, and it would continue to guard the rupiah. "Bank Indonesia (BI) is always in the market. We have scrutinized this [trend] over the last two days and we guard [the rupiah] tightly so [volatility] does not become too extreme," acting BI Governor Darmin Nasution said Friday,...

World Bank president Robert B. Zoellick has announced the appointment of Indonesian Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati as managing director of the World Bank Group.“She has been an outstanding finance minister, with in-depth knowledge of both development issues and the role of the World Bank Group,” Zoellick stated in a press release.“As...

At first blush, the job interview can seem like a simple enough meeting to conduct: shake hands, make small talk, ask questions, and compare the candidates. But how do you keep from hiring someone whose best skill is coming off well in a job interview?"There's actually a lot of preparation that goes into a good professional interview," says Janis Whitaker, the author of "Interviewing by Example." "Most people can't wing it off...