■ Semiconductors
Chip-tool orders drop in US
North American companies that sell equipment used to make semiconductors suffered a 34 percent drop in orders in May from a year earlier as customers delayed expansion plans. Orders for chip-making equipment, or bookings, rose 2.7 percent to US$1.03 billion in May from a revised US$998.8 million for April, based on a three-month average. They fell 34 percent from US$1.56 billion a year earlier, the trade group Semiconductor Equipment & Materials International said yesterday. "Bookings are stable in the last six months, which is a positive sign for the industry, and we've seen improvement in orders for new equipment in some segments," said Dan Tracy, the San Jose, California-based group's research director. The book-to-bill ratio for North American chip-tool makers was 0.85 in May, compared with a revised 0.81 in April. That means companies received US$85 in orders for every US$100 in sales. A ratio of less than 1.00 indicates the market is contracting.
■ Labor
HK workers least committed
Workers in Hong Kong are among the world's least committed, according to a survey published yesterday. Hong Kong workers scored only 22 out of 100 in an index of work commitment compared to 51 for Asia as a whole, 69 for Europe and a global average of 59. Only 36 percent of workers said they were happy with the pay they were getting and 30 percent said they had a positive outlook for their jobs in the coming year. Eighty-five percent of the 1,000 people interviewed for the survey carried out by manpower company TNS and published in the South China Morning Post were critical of their employers. Hong Kong employees are notoriously fickle and switch jobs for small pay rises when the economy is buoyant.
■ Tax Shelters
KPMG in talks over probe
The accounting firm KPMG LLP said on Thursday it is negotiating with the US Justice Department over an investigation into its alleged use of improper tax shelters for wealthy clients. The firm, which faces criminal prosecution that could threaten its survival, is being investigated for alleged missteps between 1996 and 2002. "KPMG takes full responsibility for the unlawful conduct by former KPMG partners ... and we deeply regret that it occurred," the firm said in a statement. The firm's probe is part of a larger investigation of other accounting firms, law firms, large banks and taxpayers "who participated in the development, promotion and implementation of tax shelters," KPMG said in the statement. New York-based KPMG is the US arm of the world's fourth-largest accounting firm, and its demise would leave only the three largest firms, Bloomberg reported.
■ Pharmaceuticals
Pfizer to buy Vicuron
Pfizer Inc, the world's largest pharmaceutical concern, is acquiring the US bio-pharmaceutical firm Vicuron Pharmaceuticals Inc, for US$1.9 billion, Pfizer said on Thursday. Vicuron, which specializes in medicines to combat infections, is poised to produce two medicines under consideration by the US Food and Drug Administration for public use. The transaction must still be approved by Vicuron shareholders and regulatory agencies, with a view to completing the transaction in the third quarter. Vicuron shareholders will receive US$29.10 -- a 74 percent premium compared with the average price of the past 90 days, Pfizer said.
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
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
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