HSK

China Travel – Chrysler to repay bailout loans by June

hsknet2net — Fri, 20 May 2011 08:38:18 +0000

Chrysler Group and Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne addresses the media during a visit to the Chrysler Jefferson North assembly plant in Detroit, Michigan April 28, 2011. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo)

CHICAGO, April 28 (Xinhua) — Chrysler Group LLC on Thursday announced that it plans to repay its 7.4 billion U.S. dollars of loans to the U.S. and Canadian governments by the end of June.

Chrysler said in a statement that it plans to repay its government loans with proceeds from new term loan and newly issued debt securities, which will be sold to institutional investors in a private offering, as well as the funds that it will receive from Fiat.

Italian automaker Fiat announced earlier that it plans to buy a 16 percent stake in Chrysler for 1.27 billion dollars.

Chrysler said that the completion of the term loans, debt offering and the equity investment by Fiat would occur concurrently.

“Chrysler has come a long way in a short time,” said Edmunds. com’s senior analyst Michelle Krebs in an e-mail to Xinhua, “Many thought the brand wouldn’t survive, but now it is gaining momentum with new models. The Chrysler 200 was the hit of the Super Bowl and gives Chrysler an entry to weather the current storm of high gas prices.”

The automaker’s senior executives will head out on a road show, primarily in North America, to visit potential investors and it will file a prospectus for an initial public offering at a later time.

Chrysler filed for bankruptcy protection in 2009′s April amid financial crisis and formed an alliance with Fiat for survival.

Learn Chinese, Learn mandarin, Learning Materials, Mandarin audio lessons, Chinese writing lessons, Chinese vocabulary lists, About Chinese characters, News in Chinese, Go to China, Travel to China, Study in China, Teach in China, Dictionaries, Learn Chinese Painting, Your name in Chinese, Chinese calligraphy, Chinese songs, Chinese proverbs, Chinese poetry, Chinese tattoo, HSK, HSK exam, Chinese Exam Preparation, China Business, China Travel, Mandarin Phrasebook, Chinese editor, Pinyin editor, China Travel, Travel to Beijing

China Business – U.S. economy grows 1.8 percent in first quarter

hsknet2net — Thu, 19 May 2011 08:36:19 +0000

U.S. economy expanded much slower in the first quarter this year, mainly reflecting government spending cut, reported the Commerce Department on Thursday.

U.S. real gross domestic product (GDP) — the output of goods and services produced by labor and property located in the United States — rose at an annual rate of 1.8 percent in the January to March quarter of 2011, weaker than the pace of 3.1 percent in the fourth quarter of 2010.

“The increase in real GDP in the first quarter primarily reflected positive contributions from personal consumption expenditures (PCE), private inventory investment, exports, and nonresidential fixed investment that were partly offset by negative contributions from federal government spending and state and local government spending. Imports, which are a subtraction in the calculation of GDP, increased,” the department said in a report.

The deceleration in real GDP in the first quarter primarily reflected a sharp upturn in imports, a deceleration in PCE, a larger decrease in federal government spending, and decelerations in nonresidential fixed investment and in exports, noted the department.

On Wednesday the Federal Reserve lowered its growth estimate for the whole year to 3.1-3.3 percent, from its January projection of 3.4-3.9 percent.

learn mandarin – PetroChina’s net profits up 13.9 pct in Q1

hsknet2net — Wed, 18 May 2011 08:22:23 +0000

China’s oil giant PetroChina Co. announced Wednesday that its net profits in the first quarter this year rose 13.9 percent year on year to 37 billion yuan (5.68 billion U.S. dollars).

Its earnings per share stood at 0.2 yuan, the company said in a statement filed with the Shanghai Stock Exchange.

“In the first three months this year, the output of the company’s main products had grown steadily, contributing to the relatively strong business performance,” according to the statement.

learn Chinese – Venezuela to increase minimum wage by 25%

hsknet2net — Tue, 17 May 2011 07:58:25 +0000

The Venezuelan government will increase the minimum wage 25 percent from the beginning of May, according to a decree published in the Official Gazette on Wednesday.

The presidential decree includes both the public and private sectors and the rise will be implemented in two stages, with the first 15 percent rise to take effect in May and the last 10 percent taking effect from September.

With the rise Venezuelan workers will now have a minimum wage of 360 U.S. dollars a month, up from as before it was of 285 dollars.

President Hugo Chavez, during a public event announcing the salary increase on Tuesday, said it includes the remunerations system of employees from the public administration and the more than 1.8 million pensioners and retirees.

Political opponents to Chavez, however, consider that this measure will increase the country’s inflation, which in Venezuela in 2010 reached 27.2 percent, making it the highest in South America. Venezuelan inflation in 2011 has been projected to drop to between 23 and 25 percent.

Chinese School – Japan’s industrial production slumps record 15.3% in March

hsknet2net — Mon, 16 May 2011 07:57:20 +0000

Japan’s industrial production plummeted a record 15.3 percent from the previous month in March on a seasonally adjusted basis, the Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry said in a preliminary report on Thursday.

The record decline in the recording period was due to the March 11 twin disasters that destroyed infrastructures, damaged production facilities and severely disrupted key supply chains, the government said.

March’s figure far exceeded median economists’ expectations for an 11.4 percent drop and the index stood at 82.9 against the base of 100 for 2005.

Industrial shipments plummeted 14.3 percent to 85.3 and industrial inventories dropped 4.3 percent to 97.6, the government data showed.

Chinese language – P&G posts strong quarterly earnings

hsknet2net — Sun, 15 May 2011 07:12:48 +0000

Procter & Gamble Company, the world’s largest consumer-products company, posted strong earnings during the quarter from January 1 to March 31, the company announced Thursday in a financial report.

The net earnings from continuing operations was 2.873 billion U.S. dollars during the period ended March 31, an increase of 11 percent from the same period of 2010.

The diluted net earnings per share (EPS) from continuing operations was 0.96 U.S. dollars, up 16 percent from the prior-year period, said the company.

The net sales totaled 20.23 billion U.S. dollars, growing 5 percent, driven by 5 percent volume growth, as well as favorable pricing and foreign exchange, partially offset by geographic and product mix.

“The growth fundamentals of our business are strong,” said P&G’ s Chairman of the Board, President and Chief Executive Officer Bob McDonald. “We delivered broad-based volume, sales, and market share growth, and grew EPS in a very difficult operating environment.”

Moreover, operating cash flow was 4.1 billion U.S. dollars for the quarter, while free cash flow, which is operating cash flow less capital spending, was 3.2 billion U.S. dollars and 113 percent of net earnings.

China Travel – McDonald’s hires 62,000 on “National Hiring Day”

hsknet2net — Sat, 14 May 2011 07:10:18 +0000

McDonald’s Corp., announced Thursday that it hired more than 62,000 people and received over one-million applications from job-hunters across the country during its one-day employment event on April 19.

The Oak Brook, Illinois-based company said that the company and its franchisees recruited 62,000 people in U.S., exceeding its original goal of hiring 50,000 people.

Danitra Barnett, vice president of human resources for McDonald ‘s USA reportedly said that the company was really pleased with not just the number of applicants, but also the quality of applicants.

“It left us with a great pool of candidates we can continue to draw from going forward if we need to hire more.” Barnett added.

Approximately 1,000 out of 62,000 full-and part-time employees, were for management positions, according to the company.

The fast-food chain has about 14,000 stores in the U.S. and more than 18,000 abroad. About 80 percent of all McDonald’s stores are franchised.

The U.S. Department of Labor announced Thursday that initial benefit claims for unemployment insurance jumped by 25,000 in the week ending April 23, to the highest level in three months, indicating that progress in U.S. labor market may be stalling.

China Business – Wall Street sheers for best 2011 monthly gains

hsknet2net — Fri, 13 May 2011 07:00:16 +0000

U.S. stocks ended higher on Friday with the Dows and S&P hitting new high since 2008 and three major index achieving best monthly gains in 2011.

The Dow Jones industrial average gained 46.93 points, or 0.37 percent, to 12,810.24. The Standard & Poor’s 500 was up 3.02 points, or 0.22 percent, to 1,363.50. The Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 1.01 points, or 0.04 percent, to 2,873.54.

On economic front, the U.S. Commerce Department said Friday that both consumer income and spending rose in March. The consumer income rose 0.5 percent while consumer spending increased 0.6 percent, rising for a ninth straight month, mainly driven by surging prices of food and gasoline, after an upwardly revised 0.9 percent advance in February.

Also, the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment survey showed U.S. consumer sentiment rose in April, as inflation still worried consumers. The final reading on the overall index came in at 69.8, up from 67.5 in March.

As of earnings reports, Chevron Corp, the second largest U.S. oil company, reported a jump in quarterly earnings, lifted by high oil prices and refining profit. The shares reversed its earlier losses and edged higher in closing session.

The Blackberry marker Research in Motion, dipped more than 14 percent, after it cut its first-quarter outlook. However, Apple share jumped as investors believed that the company’s future earnings will be increasing in a faster pace.

Microsoft also fell more than 3 percent, after it reported a decrease in quarterly sales of its core Windows operating system, despite strong sales of its gaming devices and corporate IT business.

Healthcare shares were the best performer in April, rising over 7 percent. Energy sector were also among the best gainers, thanks to the surging oil prices.

The U.S crude oil rose on Friday and settled above 113 dollars a barrel as dollar continued to fall after the Federal Reserve decided to leave the monetary policy unchanged.

Meanwhile, after the Federal Reserve announced to maintain its ultra-loose monetary policy for a period of time, the dollar continued to fall as investors believed the Fed would not raise interest rate soon.

Some investors concerned about the future inflation risks as surging gas and food prices overshadowed the slightly increase of household’s income. Others worried the companies’ cost will increase with higher prices. They will keep a close watch on the wording of Fed’s announcement in future and also keep sentimental about any possible hint of increasing interest rates.

WASHINGTON, April 29 (Xinhua) — U.S. consumer spending and personal income both increased in March, a sign of continuing economic recovery, reported the Commerce Department on Friday.

Personal consumption expenditures gained 60.7 billion U.S. dollars, or 0.6 percent in March, lower than the 0.9 percent increase in February.

HSK – Oil climbs on weak dollar

hsknet2net — Thu, 12 May 2011 06:22:54 +0000

U.S crude oil rose on Friday and settled above 113 U.S. dollars a barrel as dollar continued to fall after the Federal Reserve decided to leave the monetary policy unchanged.

The U.S. Commerce Department said Friday that both consumer income and spending rose in March. The consumer income rose 0.5 percent while consumer spending increased 0.6 percent, rising for a ninth straight month, mainly driven by surging prices of food and gasoline, after an upwardly revised 0.9 percent advance in February.

The dollar kept falling against major currencies after the Federal Reserve announced it will maintain its ultra-loosing monetary policy for a period of time. The weak dollar supported the dollar-dominated oil price.

However, as the oil price continued to rise recently, investors began to concern that high oil price could hurt demand, which might lead to a tumble of the oil price. Investors intended to take a more cautious approach when traded the oil futures.

Light, sweet crude for June delivery rose 1.07 dollars to settle at 113.93 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. In London, Brent crude for June delivery gained 98 cents to settle at 126.00 dollars a barrel.

learn mandarin – Wall Street jumps amid economic data and mixed earnings

hsknet2net — Wed, 11 May 2011 05:18:43 +0000

The U.S. stocks overcame the impact of slightly negative economic data and closed higher on Thursday, lifted by mixed corporate earnings of the first quarter.

The markets were mixed in the early trading session on Thursday after data showed U.S. economic growth slowed and jobless claims rose.

The U.S. economy grew at a 1.8-percent annual rate in the first quarter of 2011. The reading was lower than the 3.1-percent growth rate in the last quarter of 2010, according to the Commerce Department.

The U.S. Labor Department said initial jobless claims rose by 25,000 last week to 429,000. The reading was nearly 40,000 above expectations. The four-week average rose by a steep 9,250 to 408, 500, suggesting the recovery of the job market still had a long way to go.

Meanwhile, pending home sales gained 5.1 percent in March, according to the National Association of Realtors. The reading was seen as a leading indicator of housing activity.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said on Wednesday that the slowdown of the U.S. economy in the first quarter was transitory. He also confirmed that the second round of quantitative easing policy will end this June as scheduled.

In corporate earnings, Procter & Gamble Co posted a profit of 2. 87 billion dollars or 96 cents per share in the first quarter, slightly below market expectations.

Exxon Mobil Corp., the world’s largest publicly-traded company, earned 10.65 billion dollars in the first quarter, up from 6.3 billion dollars in the same period last year.

Moreover, Microsoft Corp. posted that its fiscal third-quarter net income jumped 31 percent to 5.2 billion dollars, or 61 cents per share. Results included a one-time tax benefit of 5 cents per share. Without the benefit, Microsoft earned 56 cents per share. The reading beat Wall Street’s expectation.

The Dow Jones industrial average gained 72.35 points, or 0.57 percent, to 12,763.31. The Standard & Poor’s 500 was up 4.82 points, or 0.36 percent, to 1,360.48. The Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 2.65 points, or 0.09 percent, to 2,872.53.