■ LCD shares take a dive
Shares lost ground yesterday, led by liquid crystal display (LCD) panel stocks after South Korea's LG Philips LCD Co warned that flat panel prices could decline in the fourth quarter.
The TAIEX lost 79.19 points, or 1.3 percent, at 5,987.40, on turnover of NT$72.67 billion (US$2.18 billion).
LG Philips said on Tuesday that the average selling prices of flat panels at the end of the fourth quarter will be "flat to slightly down" from the end of the third quarter because of weaker prices of panels used in monitors.
Goldman Sachs said in a report yesterday that it expects Taiwanese flat-panel makers AU Optronics Corp (友達光電) and Chi Mei Optoelectronics Corp (奇美電子) to offer conservative outlooks for the fourth quarter after LG Philips' weaker-than-expected prediction.
AU Optronics fell by the maximum daily limit of 7 percent to NT$39.35, while Chi Mei tumbled 6.9 percent to NT$34.45.
■ CAL announce rail link up
China Airlines (CAL, 華航) announced yesterday that it will launch a codeshare service with Deutsche Bahn AG (DB), Germany's national railway company, from Oct. 30.
The service will allow passengers flying between Taiwan and Germany to enjoy convenient high-speed rail connections between Frankfurt Ariport and seven German cities, including Hamburg, Cologne, Dusseldorf, Hanover, Munich, Nuremberg and Stuttgart, according to a CAL press statement.
DB already has such arrangements with American Airlines, Air Portugal and All Nippon Airways.
Passengers choosing to use the codeshare service will only need to pay an extra NT$1,000 (US$30) for a single rail trip and they can also enjoy access to DB's VIP lounges in the railway stations, the statement said.
■ Burberry sales grow
Burberry Group Plc, the UK luxury-goods maker known for its 80-year-old plaid design, said first-half sales gained 2 percent as the company sold more clothing through its own stores and expanded in Taiwan.
Revenue rose to £355 million (US$618 million) in the six months ending Sept. 30, from £347 million a year earlier, the company said today in a statement.
"We brought our Taiwan business under direct control, continued to rebalance the US channel mix and announced an exciting new eyewear license," Chief Executive Officer Rose Marie Bravo said in the statement.
■ Recycling progress rewarded
Taiwan has been chosen to host this year's APEC Conference on Recycling under the framework of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum, officials from the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) said yesterday.
The APEC Conference on Recycling, scheduled to be held in Taipei today and tomorrow, is expected to tackle all issues concerning recycling, including challenges and problems in promoting recycling; the sharing of successful recycling experiences; and building Web sites, EPA authorities said.
Experts from several nations are expected to attend the two-day meeting.
According to EPA officials, Japan recommended earlier this year that the conference be held in Taiwan as it has made noticeable progress in recycling in recent years.
■ NT loses against greenback
The New Taiwan dollar lost ground against its US counterpart yesterday, declining NT$0.107 to close at NT$33.369 on the Taipei foreign exchange market.
Turnover was US$971 million, up from US$677 million the previous day.
Taiwan Transport and Storage Corp (TTS, 台灣通運倉儲) yesterday unveiled its first electric tractor unit — manufactured by Volvo Trucks — in a ceremony in Taipei, and said the unit would soon be used to transport cement produced by Taiwan Cement Corp (TCC, 台灣水泥). Both TTS and TCC belong to TCC International Holdings Ltd (台泥國際集團). With the electric tractor unit, the Taipei-based cement firm would become the first in Taiwan to use electric vehicles to transport construction materials. TTS chairman Koo Kung-yi (辜公怡), Volvo Trucks vice president of sales and marketing Johan Selven, TCC president Roman Cheng (程耀輝) and Taikoo Motors Group
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