NEWS / Foreign Exchange

Kirin to buy Australia's National foods

Japanese brewer Kirin Holdings said on Thursday it would buy Australian dairy and fruit juice producer National Foods for AUD 2,8 billion (USD 2.6 billion) from Philippine partner San Miguel Corp, its latest move to offset stagnating beer sales.
The purchase price includes interest-bearing debt of about 200 billion yen (USD 1.8 billion) held by National Foods, Australia's largest processor of milk, dairy products and juice.

Japan machinery orders tumble

Japan's core private-sector machinery orders fell more than expected in September, suggesting that strength in corporate activity may be losing momentum, but July-September orders marked the first increase in three quarters, and manufacturers expect a rise in the current quarter.

Credit worries hit Asian stocks

Asian stocks fell more than 2 % on Thursday to two-week lows as investors dumped financial shares on credit fears, while a weak dollar undermined some of the region's top exporters.

Oil fell below USD 95.70 as stock market losses and fears that the U.S. economy will be hurt by the credit problems spurred investors to lock in profits from a rally that had driven U.S. crude to a record high of USD 98.62 just a day ago.