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■ Macroeconomics
US trade rep sworn in
Representative Rob Portman, a Republican from Ohio, was sworn in as the new US trade representative following the Senate's early morning approval of his nomination. With record trade deficits and mounting concern in Congress over China's handling of its currency as well as its violation of international trade laws, Portman promised lawmakers during his confirmation hearing last week that he would get tough with the Chinese and do a better job of enforcing trade laws. The administration responded to some of that criticism on Friday by releasing a report detailing China's continuing violation of intellectual property rights despite repeated public promises to rein in rampant pirating and counterfeiting. The US Chamber of Commerce says cost American industry more than US$200 billion a year.

■ United Kingdom
Journalists found guilty
Two journalists pleaded innocent Friday to charges that they used a newspaper column to encourage readers to buy stocks that they owned. Anil Bhoyrul, 38, and James Hipwell, 38, who wrote for the Daily Mirror's "City Slickers" column, each denied one count of conspiring to contravene the 1986 Financial Services Act in 1999 and 2000. A third man, private investor Terry Shepherd, 35, pleaded innocent to the same charge. The charge alleges that the men "conspired to create a misleading impression as to the value of investments for the purpose of creating that impression and thereby inducing other persons to acquire those investments, by using the City Slickers column in the Daily Mirror to tip those investments." Hipwell and Bhoyrul were fired by the newspaper, owned by Trinity Mirror PLC, in February 2000. The jury trial will begin within 12 months.

■ Shipping
Evergreen Marine profits up
Evergreen Marine Corp, Asia's largest container shipping company, posted a bigger profit for last year, citing results of an audit. Profit was NT$12.1 billion (US$387 million), the Taipei-based Evergreen Marine said in a filing to the Taiwan Stock Exchange yesterday. That's 236 percent higher than the NT$3.6 billion posted a year earlier. On Jan. 31, Evergreen Marine reported unaudited net income of NT$11.7 billion for last year. Evergreen Marine's profits rose as the company's vessels carried more goods from China for US retailers, including Wal-Mart Stores Inc. Asia's shipping lines are benefiting from increasing demand in the US and Europe for Chinese toys, textiles, electrical appliances and other exports.

■ Automobiles
Volkswagen suffers in China
Volkswagen, which for years reaped hefty profits from the emerging Chinese car market, reported on Friday that it lost 17 million euros (US$22 million) on operations in China in the first quarter, as a raft of new competitors chipped away at its once-dominant franchise. The troubles in China oversha-dowed Volkswagen's generally better results for the quarter, with net profits nearly tripling to 70 million euros, driven by a company-wide cost-cutting program that contributed 684 million euros (US$880 million) to earnings. Volkswagen reported its first quarterly loss in China late last year, and the results released on Friday show that it has not figured out how to stem the slide. Its deliveries fell 32.7 percent in the first quarter, compared with the period last year, while its market share eroded to 18 percent from 26 percent.

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