Business Leap Frontier

Cut off for almost two weeks by a dispute between the ex-Soviet states, Ukraine and Russian Federation (Russia) signed a 10-year gas supply deal on 19, January Monday to clear the way for the resumption of supplies to a freezing Europe. Vladimir Putin, Russian Prime Minister, said Ukraine will purchase Russian gas in 2009 at 20 percent discount compared with European market prices at the signing ceremony. But the exact price was not revealed. The agreement was signed by the chief executive of Russian gas export monopoly Gazprom, Alexei Miller, and the head of Ukrainian state energy firm Naftogaz, Oleh Dubyna.

In a joint news conference with his Ukrainian counterpart, Yulia Tymoshenko, Mr. Putin said “Gazprom received an order to start deliveries through all routes indicated by our Ukrainian partners and in full volumes.” On the other hand, Tymoshenko, who flew back to Moscow, the capital city of Russia, to attend the ceremony after clinching a weekend deal with his Russian counterpart Mr. Putin, said gas transit to Europe would resume after Russian gas reached Ukraine. Earlier Gazprom had said gas supplies would resume in Europe immediately after the signing. Experts say it will take around 36 hours for the first Russian gas to cross Ukraine and enter Europe.

Earlier on 1 January Russia cut supplies to Ukraine as Kiev would not pay higher prices for its gas. After six days, export flows to Europe through Ukraine ceased amid Russian accusations that Kiev was “stealing” gas intended for export. As a result, the wrangle between Moscow and Kiev enraged the European Union (EU) and raised question the credibility of Russia and Ukraine as gas suppliers to Europe. However, Ukraine’s pro-Western leaders denied the Moscow’s accusation, and countered that Moscow was trying to blackmail European consumers by halting gas supplies.

Ukraine said it could not afford to pay higher prices as it is heading into its worst recession in a decade. According to analysts forecast its economy will shrink by up to five percent in this year. Additionally, both countries have agreed not to use intermediaries in the gas trade. Previous deals have been complicated by the use of Swiss-based intermediary Rosukrenergo. Experts says the new deal strong the bond between two countries.

Apple Inc. co-founder and Chief Executive Steve Jobs said that he is going to take a medical leave until the end of June. However, these is announced just a week after the cancer survivor tried to assure investors and employees his recent weight loss was caused by an easily treatable hormone deficiency. On the other hand Apple stock drops as they announced Jobs is taking medical leave.

Steve Jobs, the 53 years old Apple’s CEO said in his latter last week that he would remain at Apple’s helm despite the hormone problem, and that he had already begun a “relatively simple and straightforward” treatment. But in an e-mail to employees Wednesday he wrote “During the past week I have learned that my health-related issues are more complex than I originally thought,”

When the roomers and news about the CEO’s health and his gaunt appearance was all-round, Apple’s shares have started to pitched and crashed over the last year. As the top executive’s health is an issue for investors in any company, at Apple the level of concern reaches fever arena because Jobs has a hand in everything from ideas for new products to the way they’re marketed. And the investors fear that, Apple will not be able to sustain its growth of the last decade, which has seen Apple branch out from its Mac computers into the iPod and the iPhone without Jobs.

The Chinese authority take more step to develop its mobile phone sector and want to offer variety in cell phone users. For this, already, China’s telecommunications regulator issued 3G mobile phone licenses to different three domestic telecom companies. The largest mobile telephone operator, China Mobile, in China recently announced it is going to invest around $8.6 billion to build more than 60,000 mobile base stations for its third generation (3G) mobile networks.

China Mobile was one of the awarded a 3G contract. The company got a license for TD-SCDMA, the domestically developed 3G network standard. The other two companies were China Telecom and China Unicom. China Telecom got licenses for the U.S.-developed CDMA2000 whereas China Unicom got license for Europe’s WCDMA systems.

Xinhua noted last Saturday, the company said upon the project’s completion in 2009, and after finishing the project the total number of China Mobile’s 3G network base stations will top 80,000. On the other hand, China’s state-run news agency reported that 3G high-speed networks can able to handle faster data downloads. Additionally, allow users to do such things as make video calls as well as watch various TV programs. The new announcement already made craze both in mobile users and businessmen.

Toyota Motor Corp. said Tuesday that it would suspend production at all of its domestic plants for 11 days between February and March in reply to a fall in sales.

A Toyota spokesman said, “We will suspend the operation of 12 Toyota factories in Japan for 11 more days.”

A stoppage of unprecedented scale for the nation’s top automaker as it struggle already idling its domestic plants for three days in January to manage with rapidly decrease global demand. Last time in August 1993, Toyota Motor Corp. halted production at all its Japan plants, when demand fall because of increasing yen, and that was for only one day.

But the stoppage time of this moment is really alarming for them. A worldwide financial slump has hammered the auto industry in Japan and elsewhere, forcing carmakers to cut employees, lower production and holdup new models. Toyota spokesman Hideaki Homma said Tuesday.

We are coping with a slump in global sales. Demand in the world auto market is so depressed that every model is falling harshly in sales.

The most recent output cuts came after the Japanese auto giant last month forecast its first ever annual operating loss, blaming an unexpected crisis in the global auto industry. Sales of latest vehicles in Japan fell to 3.2 million vehicles last year, the lowest in 34 years, the Japan Automobile Dealers Association said Monday. Toyota has already moved to reduce production at its domestic, Canadian, French, and U.S. factories, and plans to lay off 3,000 provisional workers in Japan.