■Real Estate
Free Lexus with purchase
A developer is throwing in a free Lexus in a bid to entice condominium buyers amid Singapore's sluggish property market, the firm said yesterday. City Developments' offer of a new IS200 Lexus, worth S$133,888 (US$61,000), is for the 158m2 three-bedroom units of The Trevose. Buyers can negotiate for a direct price discount instead of the Lexus or a furniture voucher if they want. For the other 17 units, CityDev will pay up to S$100,000 (US$56,000) to furnish the apartments. Reflecting the slump in the property market here, the average price of the units is currently S$4,816 (US$2,634) per square meter, down from S$6,547 when the complex was first launched in mid-2000.
■ Finance
ABN Amro rebuilds team
ABN Amro Holding NV, the largest Dutch financial services company, hired six people to boost its equity team in Asia, after a slump in stock markets the past two years reduced business and forced employee cuts. Alastair Barr, promoted in March to head the bank's equities business in Asia as well as his existing role running Australia and New Zealand, fired 55 or about a fifth of the equity employees in the region in the past six months. Barr is now rebuilding his own team, and has hired or transferred 29 employees to the region. That includes three analysts in India announced today and 10 new recruits in Taiwan last month. "We've had some tough times and we've contracted along with every other broker," said Barr. "Now we're seeing an upturn we're taking the opportunity to hire again."
■ Macroeconomics
Japan may be recovering
Japan's index of leading economic indicators was above 50 percent for a third month in July, reinforcing investor expectations that the world's second-biggest economy is recovering. The index, which measures job offers, consumer confidence and other indicators of future activity, rose to 77.8 percent from 75 percent in June, the Cabinet Office said in Tokyo. A reading above 50 percent signals an expansion in three to six months. The coincident index, which tracks factory production, power consumption by large manufacturers and department store sales to measure current economic performance, was also at 77.8 percent, compared with 63.6 percent in June, yesterday's report showed. Industrial production rose a seasonally adjusted 0.5 percent in July from June because of growing demand in the US.
■ Labor
Verizon settles with workers
Verizon Communications Inc, the biggest US local-telephone company, reached contract agreements with two unions representing 78,000 employees in northeastern US states, ending 12 weeks of negotiations. The New York-based company agreed to an 8 percent wage increase over the life of the five-year contract and left intact restrictions on its ability to cut and move jobs, it said in a statement. In exchange, Verizon won concessions that will reduce its healthcare costs by US$500 million. In talks that began in mid-June, Verizon had sought to lower healthcare expenses and gain more freedom to transfer jobs as it tries to cope with a decline in demand for local calling. With the help of a federal mediator, it averted a strike that would have hampered service and trimmed revenue in 13 states and the nation's capital.
Agencies
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source