RETURNS: A top official said earnings were NT$10.5 billion in the first seven months of the year and its January-June performance was in line with its budget forecast
By Jessie Ho
Fubon Financial Holding Co (富邦金控), the nation's fifth-largest financial services provider by assets, yesterday reported a 11 percent drop in its first half earnings from a year ago due to declining investment returns, company officials said yesterday.

[ FULL STORY ]

END TO QUOTA LIMITS: The expiration of the US and EU quotas will be a boost to China and India but could end of costing millions of jobs in Canada, Germany and Taiwan
China will boost its global clothing and textile exports by as much as half while Mexico and Morocco may hold onto their market shares when quota limits expire next year, a WTO report says.

[ FULL STORY ]

By Amber Chung
Listed companies which are required to make annual forecasts by the nation's financial authorities may no longer have to do so. The mandatory system is scheduled to be replaced by a voluntary mechanism at the beginning of next year, the Financial Supervisory Com-mission said at a press conference yesterday.

[ FULL STORY ]

Compal Electronics Inc (仁寶電子), the world's second-biggest contract maker of notebook computers, reported a 35 percent drop in second-quarter profit yesterday because of seasonal factors, rising oil prices and China's efforts to cool down its economy.

[ FULL STORY ]

BEIJING BUSINESS: Wang Yung-ching's visit has lead many in the Chinese-language press to wonder who he will be meeting and if he hopes to revive a hospital plan
By Joy Su
Formosa Plastics Corp (台塑) chairman Wang Yung-ching (王永慶) was reportedly to meet Chinese President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤) yesterday during a trip to Beijing, reviving speculation that Wang was not yet ready to call it quits in China despite previous rebuffs from Beijing over establishing a large hospital chain.

[ FULL STORY ]

CREDIT: A survey conducted by HSBC showed that the average age of Taiwanese borrowers is dropping, and that they tend to be drawn to offers of free gifts
By Jackie Lin
The number of Taiwanese with bank debts has almost doubled from four years ago, and the average age of borrowers is concentrated in a lower age group than in other nations, a banker at the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corp (HSBC) said yesterday.

[ FULL STORY ]

Shares ended flat yesterday as Typhoon Rananim lashed the nation, keeping many traders at home and causing the lowest turnover in more than a year.

[ FULL STORY ]

Suzhou, an industrial city in eastern China, told some companies to stop operating during peak hours after damaged cables and generators interrupted power supply, exacerbating shortages caused by the biggest heat wave this year.

[ FULL STORY ]

Science park weathers typhoon
[ FULL STORY ]