■ Automakers
Iacocca stars in Chrysler ad
The man who pulled Chrysler Corp out of near-bankruptcy in the 1980s is coming back. And he's bringing his old tagline: "If you can find a better car, buy it." Retired chairman and CEO Lee Iacocca has been drafted to star in a US$75 million advertising campaign touting the automaker's new "Employee Pricing Plus" discount program as it goes head to head with rivals General Motors Co and Ford Motor Co in a summer price war. Some have questioned whether the 81-year-old auto executive -- who was once so popular that many thought he should run for president -- will resonate with younger consumers. But Chrysler said market research has shown the venerable executive, whose 1980s ads became one of the most successful corporate-image repairing campaigns in US history, has maintained his iconic status.
■ Securities
Purcell to get US$44m
Morgan Stanley will pay former chairman and chief executive Philip Purcell about US$44 million in cash after he agreed to step down from the world's biggest securities firm, ending a drawn-out effort by shareholders and dissident alumni to oust him. The final amount will be based on the difference between Morgan Stanley's fiscal 2005 and 2004 pretax profit, the New York-based firm said in a regulatory filing yesterday. For example, a 10 percent increase in profit would give Purcell, 61, an additional US$4.4 million. So far this fiscal year, Morgan Stanley's pretax profit is down about 6 percent. Purcell's package ranks among Wall Street's biggest golden handshakes. In his eight years running the firm, Purcell received a total of US$190.6 million in salary, bonuses, restricted stock and employee stock options.
■ Electronics
LG Philips to raise funds
LG Philips, one of the world's largest manufacturers of liquid-crystal displays, said yesterday it would raise US$1.2 billion in overseas markets to expand production facilities. LG Philips LCD will offer 26.85 million common shares to global investors in the form of American Depositary Shares during the third quarter of this year. This share offering worth US$1.2 billion is part of the company's new investment plan, which requires a total of 5.3 trillion won (US$5.02 billion). LG Philips LCD is a joint venture between LG Electronics of South Korea and Royal Philips Electronics of the Netherlands. The offering plan came after LG Philips LCD's board approved the sale of as much as US$300 million of the stake owned by Philips.
■ Oil
G8 leaders voice concern
World leaders gathered at Gleneagles, Scotland, for the G8 summit voiced concerns on Thursday over the soaring price of oil, agreeing that it is a major factor in the world economy, a Russian delegate said. Russian President Vladimir Putin told his fellow G8 leaders that "Russia is doing what it can to produce more oil and gas, and we will do all we can to develop the transport infrastructure for ensuring these resources get to our partners," a member of the Russian delegation here told reporters late on Thursday. Oil prices retreated from record highs on Thursday after a stormy session that started with panic selling sparked by the London bomb blasts and ended with US traders fretting over hurricane weather. New York's main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in August, finished at US$60.73, off a new record high of US$62.10 set earlier in the day.
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