NY Times to axe jobs

NEW YORK: The New York Times plans to shrink the size of its pages in 2008, making them one and half inches narrower. It also plans to cut 1,050 jobs, including 800 positions at a New Jersey printing plant whose workload will shift to another in New York City, estimating the moves would save $42 million per year. — AP

German exports

BERLIN: German exports are likely to grow by more than 10 per cent this year, much higher than anticipated. While German exporters are officially forecasting export growth of eight per cent this year BDI was pencilling in growth of more than 10 per cent. — AFP

Dhakal in Mongolia

KATHMANDU: FNCCI president Chandi Raj Dhakal left on Tuesday for Ulaanbataar, Mongolia to take in the seventh high-level conference for Asia and Pacific employers on July 20 and 21. The conference is being organised jointly by the ILO, Japan Business Federation and International Employer’s Organisation under the aegis of Mongolian Employer’s Federation. Dhakal will present a country paper on employment promotion and industrial relationship at the me-et. Badri Prasad Ojha, DG of FNCCI is accompanying him. — HNS

Bentley showroom

KATHMANDU: Bentley showroom has been opened at Durbar Marg. It aims to sell wide range of glamour accessories which is the ultimate fashion statement for wardrobe, that includes a wide range of jewel, costume jewellery, fashion jewellery, and leather goods. — HNS

Revenue collection

BUTWAL: Inland Revenue Office, Butwal has failed to meet its target collection of revenue during the fiscal year 2005-06. The office collected a revenue of Rs 65.88 million in total during the period under different headings against its target of Rs 77.6 million, according to Hari Har Paudel, chief of the office. — RSS

Thai rates unchanged

BANGKOK: The Bank of Thailand on Wednesday left its key interest rate unchanged at an eight-year high of five per cent, citing easing inflation pressure. The decision was widely expected after the country’s inflation rate in June declined to 5.9 per cent year-on-year from a seven-month high of 6.2 per cent in May due to a fall in food prices. — AFP

S’pore growth on track

SINGAPORE: Singapore is expected to achieve its economic growth target of five to seven per cent this year despite a projected second-half slowdown in exports. The expected slowdown was in line with adjustments worldwide but should not be drastic enough to affect domestic growth targets. The global economy is slowing down gradually and the Singapore economy will also slow down. — AFP

Kuwaiti assets grow

KUWAIT CITY: Total assets of the oil-rich Gulf state of Kuwait stood at $166.5 billion on March 31, a rise of 37.5 per cent on the previous year’s $121.1 billion. The huge financial surplus of the OPEC member are present in two reserve funds, the state’s general reserve and KFFG. — AFP