Executive business briefing

Here are some of the top business stories for Monday:

Toyota could be hurt by California dock deadlock

TOKYO, Oct. 7 (UPI) -- Japan's biggest auto manufacturer said that the lockout of California's docks could affect its production capabilities beyond the West Coast. Last week, Toyota Motor Corp. had to curtail output at a California factory as a result of shortage of imported parts, due to the lockout.

"If this type of situation continues, other plants (in North America) may be affected," company President Fujio Cho said at a news conference Monday to launch of two new Toyota cars.

So far, the company's Freemont plant, which is Toyota's largest factory on the West Coast, has been affected by the lockout now in its second week.

Asian shippers delaying vessel departures

SINGAPORE, Oct. 7 (UPI) -- As the U.S. West Coast ports lockout entered its second week, Asian shippers in Thailand and South Korea delayed vessel departures to the United States but shippers in Singapore and Taiwan said departing schedules were being maintained. Some $10 billion worth of cargo in 192 ships are laying idle near 29 ports, and the costs mount as additional vessels arrive at the ports. It typically takes two weeks for a vessel from Southeast Asia to arrive to the West Coast.

The 29 ports handle more than $300 billion worth of goods annually, or about 7 percent of the U.S. gross national product, including about $1 billion worth of goods from Asia a day.

There are no signs of progress in negotiations between shipping line and terminal operator negotiator, the Pacific Maritime Association, and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union in a dispute that is estimated to cost the U.S. economy more than $1 billion a day. The dispute centers on plans by the shipping companies to computerize some port operations and track shipments, a move opposed by unions.

Last week, Asian shippers were confident that the dispute would be resolved by the end of that week and expressed little concerns on the financial impact it would have on their companies. But the prolonged lockout is forcing them to reassess options.

In South Korea, Lee Joon-ki a spokesman for Hyundai Merchant Marine Co., said Monday the company was delaying its vessels' departure for the U.S. West Coast, and added that other South Korean shippers were doing the same. An official at the Korea International Trade associations said the loss due to the delays reaches $50.53 million (60.6 billion won) a day.

In Thailand, Amnuay Sujarittham, senior official of the Thai National Shippers' Council, also reported that a few ships have delayed departure, adding that Thai garment and food exporters were especially affected.

Crude oil prices rise as terrorist fears mount

LONDON, Oct. 7 (UPI) -- Renewed concerns about terrorist attacks in the Middle East pushed crude oil prices to their highest levels in two weeks on Monday.

The explosion that damaged a French tanker in Yemen, which French authorities believe was due to a terrorist attack, pushed London's benchmark Brent crude oil price to $28.50 per barrel, up 38 cents from last week. U.S. light crude also rose 31 cents to $29.93.

The Limburg supertanker exploded Sunday as it prepared to land at Mina al-Dabah, Yemen, and the vessel's owner, Euronav SA, suspects the explosion to be a result of a deliberate attack. Such talks have heightened concerns about the situation in the region and access to oil, leading to prices to rise.

Tumble on Tokyo stock market drags Asia

SINGAPORE, Oct. 7 (UPI) -- The sharp fall of the Japanese stock market set the tone in Asia Monday, with most markets following suit. Uncertainties about the outlook for the Japanese banking sector and how the government will tackle its bad-loan problem dominated trading, which was already undermined by the performance of Wall Street last Friday.

Wall Street closed at fresh lows with the Nasdaq down 2.2 percent and the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 2.4 percent after unemployment data showed evidence of a sluggish labor market. The Nikkei 225 fell 3.8 percent to a 19-year closing low of 8688.00, with banks leading the way. UFJ Holdings lost 11.9 percent, Mizuho Holdings 7.5 percent and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking 9 percent.

Other Asian markets were also lower, on a combination of Wall Street's fall, the continued lockout at U.S. West Coast ports and underlying Middle-East war fears.

In Hong Kong, concerns about the local economy's recovery send the Hang Seng index down 1.33 percent to 8,931.4. China's biggest computer maker Legend Group, down 11.76 percent, was the main looser as investors worried about a possible price war in the Chinese computer market. In South Korea, the Kospi index lost 3.6 percent at 627.40 with many blue chips sold down. Hyundai Motor fell 5.9 percent, Samsung Electronics lost 3.3 percent and Kookmin Bank 7.2 percent.