■ Japan
Indicators rise again
Japan's index of leading economic indicators was above 50 percent in January for the fifth month, indicating that the economy will extend growth into this year. The index, which measures job offers, consumer confidence and other indicators of future activity, was at 55.6 percent from 66.7 percent in January, the Cabinet Office said in Tokyo. A reading above 50 percent signals an expansion in three to six months. Industrial production had its biggest gain in four months in January and exports rose for the third month in four in January.
■ Parmalat
Company gets loan
Insolvent dairy company Parmalat Finanziaria SpA said Thursday it had secured a 105.8 million euro (US$128 million) loan, which should help keep production running at its main operating unit Parmalat SpA. Separately, the company's court-appointed administrator, Enrico Bondi, asked a Parma court to sequester the personal assets of all those who served as board members and internal auditors since the company listed in 1990, sources close to prosecutors told Dow Jones newswires. Bondi is seeking to recover as many assets as possible in order to keep the insolvent dairy company running. A recent audit found its net debt exceeds US$17.3 billion.
■ Indonesia
Pertamina gets Exxon deal
State-owned Indonesian oil and gas company Pertamina has a preliminary agreement with US energy giant Exxon Mobil Corp over how to develop Indonesia's largest oil find in three decades, the Indonesian company said yesterday. Alfred Rohimone, Pertamina's finance director, said the two sides agreed to split equally any gains from the huge Cepu field on Indonesia's main island of Java. "We have reached an initial agreement," he said. "Now we are waiting for approval from Pertamina's board of commissioners." However, Exxon Mobil said in a statement that although it hoped an agreement would be reached soon, it had "no announcement to make at the present time."
■ Japan
Foreign reserves rise
Japan's foreign reserves rose US$35.61 billion in February, or 4.8 percent from the previous month, to US$776.86 billion, the Finance Ministry said yesterday. The gain reflected the government's buying of US dollars in currency markets to prevent the yen from gaining too fast and snuffing out an export-led economic recovery. Through the Bank of Japan, the Finance Ministry sold about ?3.342 trillion (US$30 billion) in February.
■ Property
Trump to build new tower
Billionaire property mogul Donald Trump is taking time out from firing wannabe tycoons on his hit TV show to build a new US$500 million luxury tower in Canada's largest city. Trump said his 68-storey 300m skyscraper split between a top end hotel and condominiums in Toronto's swanky Bay Street business district will set new standards for well-heeled guests. "Nothing like this has ever been built in Toronto," he said in a statement. "It is going to be the ultimate destination for business, pleasure and entertainment. The Donald's famous tower in New York City is one of the world's most exclusive residential properties, and Manhattan icons like New York Yankees star Derek Jeter have called it home.
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
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
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