‘AMIABLE ELDER’: The legendary businessman, who started the Formosa Plastics Group from scratch, died in his sleep while on an inspection trip of factories in the US
By Jerry Lin And Ko Shu-ling
Formosa Plastics Group (FPG, 台塑集團) founder Wang Yung-ching (王永慶), a local tycoon known for his business management abilities, has died at the age of 91 while on a business trip in the US, the group said yesterday.

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‘INSUFFICIENT’: US retail sales fell 1.2 percent last month, nearly double the 0.7 percent analysts expected. The Dow Jones showed its second-biggest point loss ever
World stocks tumbled yesterday, with Tokyo’s market plunging more than 11 percent, after another dive on Wall Street as worse-than-expected data about the US economy heightened fears of a global recession.

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By Meggie Lu
The miniscule distance of 0.01 angstrom — or 10-12 meters — has helped a young Taiwanese scientist bag the science equivalent of an “Olympic gold medal” in the global race to find the shortest metal-metal bond in chemistry. The feat has also helped Taiwan gain some recognition on the international scientific stage.

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By Shih Hsiu-chuan
The Cabinet yesterday approved a tax reform proposal that would cut the maximum estate and gift taxes from 50 percent to 10 percent in a move that critics say would cause taxation and socioeconomic inequality.

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In their fiercest encounter of the campaign, Republican presidential candidate Senator John McCain heatedly demanded in their final debate on Wednesday that Democratic Senator Barack Obama explain his relationship with a Vietnam war-era radical.

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