SAARC free trade pact comes into force
January 1, 2006A free trade arrangement aimed at enhancing intraregional trade and economic cooperation in South Asia came into effect with the onset of the new year Sunday. Member countries of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation have launched what has been called ''the world's biggest free trade area, but in a region steeped in poverty, minimum economic growth and backwardness.''
Daiei's December sales up 5% for 2nd straight month of on-year rise
January 1, 2006Daiei Inc. said Sunday its same-store sales rose 5 percent in December from a year earlier, posting a second straight month of sales increases from year-before levels for the first time in 25 months. The supermarket chain operator, currently restructuring under the supervision of the Industrial Revitalization Corp. of Japan, had reported a 3 percent sales gain in November for the first upturn in 21 months.