Oil prices near $76 :

SINGAPORE: Oil prices neared $76 a barrel in Asian hours on Monday as news spread that BP Alaska has shutdown half its oil production in the Alaska North Slopes. The closure on Sunday will affect about $400,000 of oil per day, or eight per cent of US production. It also comes at a time when prices are under severe pressure from geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and Nigeria. — AFP

China’s financing plan :

BEIJING: China plans to improve financial assistance to private makers of military equipment to ensure they can carry on strategically vital efforts in research and development. The assistance will be mainly in the form of subsidised loans, with direct funding as an alternative option. The decision was made to ‘guarantee the smooth progress of research and development in military equipment.’ — AFP

Manufacturing rises :

LONDON: British manufacturing output climbed in June, but at a slower pace than had been forecast by analysts. Manufacturing output, which excludes energy and mineral extraction, rose by 0.1 per cent in June, from an upwardly revised 0.6 per cent in May. Analysts’ forecast had been for a rise of 0.3 per cent in June. — AFP

Business upbeat :

TOKYO: Most Japanese business leaders believe the economy is stro-ngly expanding but they are split on how long the growth will last amid soaring oil prices. Some 95 per cent of business leaders believe the econom-y has been showing solid growth, a dip of 3.7 percentage points from the previous survey. Over 93 per cent predicted the growth will continue. — AFP

Taiwan exports up :

TAIPEI: Taiwan’s exports in July rose by 21.2 per cent from a year earlier to $19.58 billion, largely reflecting strong growth in demand from Hong Kong, China, the US and Southeast Asian countries. In June, Taiwan’s exports increased by 16.5 per cent to $18.10 billion. Imports in July rose by 17.5 per cent year-on-year to $17.78 billion, against a 12 per cent increase to $16.88 billion in the preceding month. — AFP

P’pines to re-bid plant :

MANILA: A state-owned coal-fired power plant will be auctioned off for a second time after the previous winner failed to make a $228 million downpayment. The Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp (PSALM) said in a statement a date for the new auction of the Masinloc 600 MW power plant had not been set but expressed hopes this sale would be successful. — AFP