■ Stock Exchanges
Tokyo bourse's chief quits
Tokyo Stock Exchange chief Takuo Tsurushima resigned yesterday to take responsibility for the estimated US$330 million loss on the market because of a simple typing error on an order. Sadao Yoshino, who is in charge of TSE's computer system, and managing director and executive officer Tomio Amano also stepped down in the scandal. On Dec. 8, a trader at Mizuho Securities punched in an order to sell 610,000 shares in a telecoms firm at ?1 each, instead of the intended one share at ?610,000, landing the firm a loss of US$330 million.
■ Internet
Online retail sales grow
US online retail sales showed strong gains for the current holiday season, according to two surveys released as the period for Internet purchases drew to a close. Shoppers spent US$18.6 billion through Dec. 9, up 16 percent from the same period last year, according to a survey of 1,000 shoppers by Goldman Sachs with Nielsen/NetRatings and Harris Interactive. A separate survey released on Sunday by comScore Networks showed a 23 percent gain in the period through Dec. 16, to US$15.86 billion. ComScore said the survey suggests overall online spending for the holiday season will top US$19 billion.
■ Banking
ABN Amro pays fine in US
Dutch bank ABN Amro has paid a fine of US$80 million imposed by US financial authorities for contravening rules aimed at blocking payments to terrorist organizations. The bank, which has interests around the world, made the announcement in Amsterdam late on Monday, saying the contraventions took place in its New York office, which handles all the bank's dollar transactions. The board of management simultaneously announced that it was handing back US$1 million in bonus payments. The fine was imposed by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), an enforcement arm of the US Treasury Department. The payments, covering the period 1997 to last year, involved a list of OFAC-sanctioned countries. Iran and Libya were specifically mentioned.
■ Insurance
2005 the costliest year yet
Natural and manmade disasters that killed 112,000 people this year caused an estimated US$80 billion in insured losses, making it the world's costliest year for insurers, Swiss Reinsurance Co said yesterday. Swiss Re, the world's second-largest reinsurer, said catastrophes caused total financial losses -- most of which were uninsured -- of around US$225 billion. Earthquakes were the major killer, with 87,000 people dying in the Oct. 8 Pakistan earthquake, the company said. Overall, earthquakes claimed over 90,000 lives this year. Damage from the Pakistan quake was in the range of US$5 billion. The hurricanes that hit North America caused the most expensive damage to buildings, vehicles and infrastructure, Swiss Re said. The widespread flooding and devastation caused by Katrina in New Orleans and along the US Gulf coast contributed to a total economic loss of US$135 billion from that one hurricane. The subsequent storms, hurricanes Rita and Wilma, each added a further US$15 billion, Swiss Re said.
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