China’s government Friday rejected a U.S. antidumping ruling against its makers of solar power equipment and Chinese manufacturers warned possible higher tariffs might hurt efforts to promote clean energy. “The U.S. ruling is unfair, and the Chinese side expresses its extreme dissatisfaction,” said a Commerce Ministry spokesman, Shen Danyang, in a statement. Thursday’s preliminary ruling by the Commerce Department said Chinese producers sold solar cells and panels below fair price and hurt American producers. If that is upheld, tariffs averaging 31 percent could be imposed on Chinese solar-panel imports.
Super Bowl ads not worth cost, GM says
General Motors says it won’t run ads during the Super Bowl in February because they’re too expensive. The Super Bowl is advertising’s biggest stage. Companies spent an average of $3.5 million for a 30-second commercial during this year’s game. It’s not the first advertising change this week for GM. The company also decided to pull $10 million in ads from Facebook, saying they weren’t effective.
Treasury yields rise after hitting record low
U.S. Treasury yields inched up Friday a day after the yield on the 10-year note brushed near a record low. The yield on the benchmark 10-year note rose to 1.71 percent late Friday from 1.69 percent Thursday. Its price fell three cents for every $100 invested. Thursday’s yield was the lowest end-of-day level on Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis records dating to 1953.
Yahoo shares gain on word of pending deal
Shares of Yahoo Inc. posted gains Friday on a report that it was close to signing a deal with Alibaba Group related to the Web portal’s huge stake in the Chinese Internet giant. Yahoo’s stock rose 3.7 percent to close at $15.42 after AllThingsD reported, citing unnamed sources, the deal in which the company would sell a big part of its stake back to Alibaba. The transaction would also include a multibillion-dollar share buyback to Yahoo investors and an initial public offering of Alibaba, the blog said, adding that the agreement could be unveiled as early as Monday.
Merkel’s alleged proposal irks Greeks
Germany’s chancellor apparently waded into Greece’s choppy political waters Friday, when Athens said Angela Merkel suggested that the country should hold a referendum on the euro together with next month’s national elections. Berlin first refused to comment and then denied that Merkel had floated the idea during a phone conversation with Greek President Karolos Papoulias. The alleged proposal ruffled feathers across Greece’s deeply fragmented political spectrum, with parties saying it was an unwarranted intervention in domestic affairs at a particularly sensitive time.
From Herald news services
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