SLOVENIA
Investors urged to stay calm
Officials have a message for the world: “Don’t panic — we won’t be the next to fall.” The EU member is trying to convince its people and foreign investors that it will not be the next in line for a banking system collapse and a messy international bailout. “We are absolutely no Cyprus,” Prime Minister Alenka Bratusek said. “We don’t need help. All we need is time.” While its overall public debt load is well below the EU average, the country of 2 million is facing difficulties refinancing its debt. That has fueled fears that the nation — which accounts for 0.4 percent of the eurozone’s overall economy — could become the sixth eurozone nation to require assistance.
BANKING
Fed chief to miss symposium
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke will miss the annual Jackson Hole monetary policy symposium this year due to a scheduling conflict, skipping the prestigious event for the first time since taking the helm of the bank in 2006. The conference, held in late August in the splendor of the Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming, draws top central bankers from around the world. Bernanke’s absence would mark the first time in 25 years that a Fed chairman has not attended. A Fed spokeswoman said the chairman was currently not planning to attend because of a personal scheduling conflict. Bernanke has periodically used the setting to preview important Fed actions. This year’s meeting would have been viewed as an excellent opportunity for Bernanke to signal that the bank might be leaning toward tapering bond purchases, if the economy continues to recover as officials hope.
ENVIRONMENT
Florida sues over oil spill
The state of Florida filed a lawsuit on Saturday against British oil company BP and cement contractor Halliburton over the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, becoming the fourth US state to seek damages for the 2010 disaster. The suit, among other things, faults BP for not changing the batteries on the rig’s blowout preventer. Halliburton was blamed for installing faulty cement barriers that were supposed to gird the well against oil pressure. The 40-page complaint by Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi was filed in US District Court in Panama City. Bondi filed suit on the three-year anniversary of the tragedy that killed 11 rig workers in the Gulf of Mexico. Florida is now the fourth state to sue over the Gulf of Mexico oil spill; Mississippi sued on Friday. Louisiana and Alabama sued BP earlier and are participating in a federal trial that is ongoing in New Orleans to determine the liability of BP and others.
AVIATION
Lufthansa cancels flights
German flag carrier Lufthansa said that most of its domestic, European and long-haul flights would be canceled today due to strike action by ground personnel and cabin crews. “Due to strike action announced for April 22, nearly all Lufthansa flights to German and European destinations must be cancelled,” the airline announced in a statement on Saturday. The firm said it had scheduled only about 20 of its usual 1,650 short-haul flights for today and warned long-haul routes would also be seriously affected. At Frankfurt Airport, Europe’s third-busiest hub, 46 out of 50 intercontinental flights would be scrapped, with long-haul flights from Munich also grounded. Services union Verdi called the strike after three rounds of pay talks with management ended without agreement.
Stephen Garrett, a 27-year-old graduate student, always thought he would study in China, but first the country’s restrictive COVID-19 policies made it nearly impossible and now he has other concerns. The cost is one deterrent, but Garrett is more worried about restrictions on academic freedom and the personal risk of being stranded in China. He is not alone. Only about 700 American students are studying at Chinese universities, down from a peak of nearly 25,000 a decade ago, while there are nearly 300,000 Chinese students at US schools. Some young Americans are discouraged from investing their time in China by what they see
MAJOR DROP: CEO Tim Cook, who is visiting Hanoi, pledged the firm was committed to Vietnam after its smartphone shipments declined 9.6% annually in the first quarter Apple Inc yesterday said it would increase spending on suppliers in Vietnam, a key production hub, as CEO Tim Cook arrived in the country for a two-day visit. The iPhone maker announced the news in a statement on its Web site, but gave no details of how much it would spend or where the money would go. Cook is expected to meet programmers, content creators and students during his visit, online newspaper VnExpress reported. The visit comes as US President Joe Biden’s administration seeks to ramp up Vietnam’s role in the global tech supply chain to reduce the US’ dependence on China. Images on
New apartments in Taiwan’s major cities are getting smaller, while old apartments are increasingly occupied by older people, many of whom live alone, government data showed. The phenomenon has to do with sharpening unaffordable property prices and an aging population, property brokers said. Apartments with one bedroom that are two years old or older have gained a noticeable presence in the nation’s six special municipalities as well as Hsinchu county and city in the past five years, Evertrust Rehouse Co (永慶房產集團) found, citing data from the government’s real-price transaction platform. In Taipei, apartments with one bedroom accounted for 19 percent of deals last
US CONSCULTANT: The US Department of Commerce’s Ursula Burns is a rarely seen US government consultant to be put forward to sit on the board, nominated as an independent director Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, yesterday nominated 10 candidates for its new board of directors, including Ursula Burns from the US Department of Commerce. It is rare that TSMC has nominated a US government consultant to sit on its board. Burns was nominated as one of seven independent directors. She is vice chair of the department’s Advisory Council on Supply Chain Competitiveness. Burns is to stand for election at TSMC’s annual shareholders’ meeting on June 4 along with the rest of the candidates. TSMC chairman Mark Liu (劉德音) was not on the list after in December last