■ Crude oil
OPEC may boost output
The OPEC said yesterday it would make up for any oil shortage from the attack on Iraq, using spare output capacity to ensure supply continuity. OPEC President Abdullah al-Attiyah of Qatar said he had spoken with members of the 11-strong cartel following the US attack on Iraq. "As a result of those consultations, I am herewith reiterating OPEC's resolve to make up for any supply shortfall resulting from developing events," he said in a statement carried on OPEC's official news agency. "To this end, Member Countries have pledged to use, in the interim, their available excess capacities to ensure continued supply."
■ Money market
S Korea may inject cash
South Korea's central bank said it may inject more cash into the money market via repurchase agreements in the event financial markets show signs of instability as a US-led invasion of Iraq gets underway. "We will seek stability in the financial markets by injecting more liquidity through repurchase agreements and adjusting the size and timing of issuing monetary stabilization bonds," the bank said in a statement. The central bank, however, "isn't considering" cutting the benchmark interest rate for now, deputy governor Park Cheul said. The bank's overnight call rate is at 4.25 percent, a quarter percentage point above its record low. The bank may directly buy treasury bonds from the market, if there are signs of a credit crunch. The bank will also encourage financial institutions to extend financial support to smaller companies, which may face a tighter credit environment because of the war, it said.
■ Internet
ICANN picks president
The group that oversees the Internet's traffic system said on Wednesday that it had picked Australian Paul Twomey as its new president, marking the first time a non-US resident will head the global body. Twomey said he would try to reach out to developing countries over the next three years as he heads the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, or ICANN. The nonprofit body was created in 1998 to take control of the Internet's operating framework from the US government. Since then the group has introduced competition into the sale of Internet domain names like example.com, and introduced several new domain suffixes such as .info to compete with .com and other established domains. Twomey, who formerly served as the Australian government's representative to ICANN and chaired its government committee, said he would try to change that focus.
■ Hutchison
Net profit up 19 percent
Hong Kong-based conglomerate Hutchison Whampoa said yesterday its net profit last year rose 19.3 percent to HK$14.29 billion. The company, controlled by Asia's wealthiest tycoon Li Ka-shing, said sales rose to HK$111.13 billion from HK$89.04 billion. Pre-tax profit rose to HK$18.88 billion from HK$16.07 billion. The result was above Multex Global Estimates' forecasts of a net profit of between HK$9.39 billion and HK$13.03 billion. Hutchison's interests include ports, telecommunications, property and supermarket chains.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique