■ Currency
S Korean reserves increase
South Korea's foreign-exchange reserves rose to a record US$156.73 billion as of Jan. 15 as the central bank earned more interest on its overseas currencies and a weaker US dollar raised the value of its holdings in euro. Reserves, including foreign currency, gold and drawing rights in its International Monetary Fund reserve account, rose by US$1.38 billion in the first 15 days of this month, the Bank of Korea said in a statement in Seoul. South Korea's foreign reserves are the fourth highest in the world after those of Japan, China and Taiwan. Abundant foreign reserves provide the central bank with a buffer against fluctuations of the South Korean won relative to major currencies.
■ Printers
Brother shares rise
Shares in Brother Industries Ltd, the third-biggest seller of laser printers in the US, extended gains a second day, rising as much as 12 percent, because of increased US demand, according to Hidehiko Hoshino, an analyst at Deutsche Securities Ltd. in Tokyo. Brother shares rose as much as ¥123 to ¥1,153 and were traded at ¥1,092, up 6 percent as of 9:53am in Tokyo Stock Exchange trading. Increasing demand for printers in the US may have helped lift profit during the quarter ended Dec. 31, Hoshino said.
■ Snacks
PepsiCo sales safe
PepsiCo Inc, maker of Frito-Lay brand snack foods, is unlikely to have its sales hurt by low-carbohydrate diets that are popular with US consumers, money managers told Barron's. Hard-core snack eaters tend to be young and less concerned about losing weight, Bill Pecoriello, an analyst with Morgan Stanley, told the newspaper. A poll of 2,500 people published by Morgan Stanley in December found that 19 percent were on or had tried a low-carbohydrate diet last year, Barron's said.
■ Transport
NTT to develop smart card
Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp will develop a chip-embedded smart card that supports two international standards, the Nihon Keizai newspaper reported. The card will be compatible with those used by Tokyo-based East Japan Railway Co for its commuter pass and by Japanese local governments for resident registry networks, the paper said, without saying who provided the information. Tokyo-based Nippon Telegraph and Telephone, known as NTT, expects to have the new card ready by the end of this year, Nikkei said.
■ Supermarkets
Wal-Mart lock-ins queried
Some Wal-Mart Stores Inc workers are questioning the retailer's practice of locking in night employees at some Wal-Mart and Sam's Club stores, the New York Times reported. Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer, locks in night employees at some sites to protect stores and workers in regions with increased crime, the newspaper said, citing Mona Williams, Wal-Mart's vice president for communications. The practice occurs at 10 percent of its stores, a percentage that has decreased as the company has added more 24-hour locations, she told the newspaper. A Sam's Club overnight worker in Corpus Christi, Texas who was injured by machinery waited an hour for a manager to arrive with a key.
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
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
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
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