BRIEFS

REFORM

Portugal 'on track'

Portugal is on "the right track" in meeting economic reform targets set by its international creditors in exchange for rescue funding, IMF chief Christine Lagarde says. "A significant part of fiscal adjustment has been carried out," she said. Portugal obtained a €78 billion ($A97 billion) bailout from the European Union and IMF in May 2011, and in exchange agreed to a three-year reform program that has thrown the country into recession and sent unemployment soaring to a record 16 per cent.

EMPLOYMENT

Jobs on rise

Despite concerns about looming tax increases and government spending cuts, US employers added 155,000 jobs in December. Employees also had slightly faster wage growth and worked longer hours, which could bode well for future hiring. The unemployment rate was steady at 7.8 per cent.

URANIUM

China, Japan lift

Uranium is poised to rebound from a second annual decline as Japan considers restarting its atomic plants almost two years after the Fukushima disaster and China pushes ahead with the world's biggest nuclear building program. A revival in demand from Japan is raising the prospect that supplies of uranium will shrink at the same time as China increases its nuclear power capacity.

LENOVO

Businesses split

Lenovo Group, China's biggest maker of personal computers, has split its main business into two as its range of products grows. Chief executive Yang Yuanqing told staff the first unit would be called Lenovo group, which would focus on the consumer business and mobile strategy, and the Think group, which would look after corporate customers. Lenovo has added tablets and phones to lessen its dependence on PCs, taking it into competition with Apple and Samsung.

PLANE

Exec missing

Fashion executive Vittorio Missoni and his partner are missing in Venezuela after the small plane they were travelling in vanished. Missoni is responsible for the company's marketing. Missoni knitwear is known for its patterns, which feature coloured stripes and geometric patterns.