INVESTORS ROILED: Worries about global interest rates and inflationary pressures sparked hefty losses this week amid fears that the recent deal-making craze may ebb
Wall Street's exuberance, which had lifted US stock indexes to a series of records, suffered a bruising in the past week as interest rate and inflation fears roiled investors.

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BUCKING THE TREND: Taipei avoided being swept up in the regional downward spiral as TSMC's positive showing after going ex-dividend limited local losses
Asian stocks followed Wall Street's lead and fell sharply on Friday amid escalating fears that rising inflation will steer central banks around the world into another round of interest rate hikes.

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The US dollar firmed against the other major currencies on Friday as US trade data showed a surprisingly shrinking deficit that reinforced the notion of stronger growth that could mean higher interest rates.

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European shares lost ground on Friday as investors continued to worry about the impact of higher interest rates, while shares in French bank BNP Paribas rose after a report stirred up takeover hopes for the group.

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World oil prices tumbled on Friday as traders took profits following a downturn in global equities markets this week that prompted concerns about economic growth and energy demands.

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HOMEBOY HERO: Hundreds of Taiwanese yesterday flocked to hear Steve Chen talk about his vision for the popular video site, as well as the move to Web 3.0
By Jessie Ho
In his first public speech in Taiwan, popular video-sharing site YouTube co-founder Steve Chen (陳士駿) yesterday unveiled the possibility of a Taiwanese version of YouTube to meet growing local demand.

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EXPANSION: The company's chief financial officer said that a 170 percent surge in its automotive device sales necessitated adding a new factory ahead of schedule
Navigational device maker Garmin Ltd said it will open a third factory in Taiwan as it tries to keep up with consumers wanting to put the devices in their cars and trucks.

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A service fee that Visa places on its largest debit card issuers that essentially deterred them from moving their business to a competitor is unlawful and must be repealed, a judge has ruled.

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Altria Group Inc's Philip Morris USA plans to unveil a new spitless, smokeless tobacco product under the Marlboro brand name to spur sales amid declining cigarette consumption.

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Bank of America Corp said a Dutch court's decision to block its US$21 billion purchase of LaSalle Bank was "shocking" in its speed, questioning in court papers made public on Friday how it could issue an injunction so soon after hearing arguments in the case.

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The five-day Computex trade show closed yesterday, with 33,000 foreign buyers and 8,000 visitors having passed through the doors, CNA reported, citing a Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA, 外貿協會) official.

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