■ Stock markets
NYSE amends constitution
The New York Stock Exchange's new independent board has amended the exchange's constitution to add a representative of individual investors on its executive panel. Federal regulators must approve the change. The amendment, which was approved by the eight-member board Monday, was made to include "a useful additional voice," NYSE interim chairman John Reed said in a statement Wednesday. The change comes a week after NYSE members approved a package of changes proposed by Reed that eliminated the exchange's 27-member board in favor of a smaller independent board that will oversee compensation and regulation. A 20-member executive panel will handle operations, such as listing standards.
■ Macroeconomics
US economy is expanding
The US economy is now in a broad-based expansion and the battered labor market is emerging from the dumps, the Federal Reserve's Beige Book survey showed Wednesday. "Reports received from the district banks suggest that the economy continued to expand in October and early November," said the Beige Book survey of the central bank's 12 districts, released eight times a year. "Descriptions of growth varied somewhat. But improvements appeared to be reasonably broad-based, with most districts noting growth in a number of industries." The labor market, the laggard in an economy that boomed at a stunning 8.2 percent annual growth pace in the third quarter, according to the latest figures, was finally recovering.
■ Credit cards
S&P blasts LG bailout
Standard & Poor's warned yesterday that LG Card Co, South Korea's largest credit card company, would require a capital injection much larger than a pledged 1 trillion won (US$832 million) to be kept afloat. Assuming a "generous" recovery ratio of 20 to 30 percent for LG Card's estimated delinquent assets of about 8 trillion won among its total assets of about 25 trillion won, the card company's negative net asset value is estimated to be larger than between 2 and 3 trillion won, Standard & Poor's said. "Therefore, the LG group's planned 1 trillion won capital injection into LG Card will be a drop in the ocean," said Choi Young-Il, a credit analyst at the ratings agency. LG Card and other South Korean card companies are saddled with high delinquency rates hovering around 10 percent.
■ Banking
Policymakers dissent
Three central bank policymakers dissented from last month's decision to increase reserves for banks, saying there was no need to pump more money into the economy, minutes of the meeting show. Kazuo Ueda, Teizo Taya and Miyako Suda all dissented from the decision at the Oct. 9 to Oct. 10 board meeting, according to minutes released in Tokyo. At the meeting, policy makers voted 6-3 to raise the upper limit of the target for reserves the Bank of Japan makes available to commercial banks by ?2 trillion (US$18.3 billion) to ?32 trillion. The bank also kept interest rates almost at zero. Many members said "It was appropriate" to pump extra money into the world's second-largest economy, because "it was important to ensure further the recent movement toward an economic recovery by making room for conducting monetary operations in a more flexible manner."
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