■ Forex
Lehman sees dollar drop
Lehman Brothers Holdings said the dollar will fall after the Federal Reserve's decision to raise its target interest rate by a quarter point from 1 percent. The firm cut its forecast for the dollar versus Canada's currency. "Expectations of higher US interest rates cannot serve as a source of support for the dollar for-ever," Jim McCormick, Lehman's head of global currency research in Lon-don, wrote in the firm's weekly report on currency strategy. "Although rising US interest-rate expecta-tions have been a source of support for the dollar in advance of the first rate hike, the historical relation-ship has eventually broken down." Lehman reiterated its May 27 recommenda-tions to sell the dollar versus the currencies of Japan, Switzerland and Canada.
■ Banking
Strikers seize building
Up to 2,000 striking workers occupied the headquarters of the Citigroup-owned KorAm Bank yesterday, crippling the lender's operations as the strike entered its eighth day. Customers have withdrawn about 1.91 trillion won (US$1.65 billion) from the mid-size lender this week, the government's Financial Supervisory Service said yesterday. On Thursday alone, the bank's deposits fell by 271.8 billion won to 28.82 trillion won. KorAm's 2,500 unionized workers began the strike last Friday, demanding a wage hike and job guarantees in the wake of a takeover by US-based Citigroup earlier this year.
■ Media
Black sues over sale
Conrad Black sued Hollin-ger International in a US court on Thursday, demand-ing that the company hold a shareholder vote on its proposed sale of the British Daily and Sunday Tele-graph newspapers, his holding company said in a statement. Black's holding company, Hollinger Inc, took the dispute to Dela-ware Chancery Court, the company said in a state-ment. Black is seeking to force Hollinger Interna-tional to hold a shareholder vote on its June 22 deal to sell its most valuable asset, the Telegraph Group, to the Barclay brothers for about US$1.33 billion. The lawsuit is the latest round in a seven-month dispute between Hollinger International and Black.
■ South Korea
Seoul to boost construction
South Korea's government said it will spend an extra 2 trillion won (US$1.7 billion) on roads, homes and bridges to stem a slowdown in the construction industry, which accounts for about a fifth of Asia's third-largest economy. Part of the money will come from the 4.5 trillion won extra budget the government announced last month, the Ministry of Construction and Transpor-tation said in a statement. Construction orders fell for a fifth straight month in May, sliding 24 percent from a year earlier, a government report showed earlier this week. That was the biggest drop in 14 months.
■ Japan
Softbank mulls C&W bid
Internet investor Softbank Corp is in talks with Britain's Cable and Wireless to purchase its Japanese unit, the Asahi newspaper said yesterday. Softbank reportedly aims to strengthen its Internet-based telecommunications services through the purchase. Softbank was expected to pay about ?10 billion (US$92 million) for Cable and Wireless IDC, which has about 40,000 corporate clients in Japan.
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
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
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