The embattled French co-CEO of Airbus parent European Aeronau-tics and Defense Space Co (EADS) yesterday defended his sale of shares in the company before delays in the superjumbo A380 sent stock tumbling, calling it an "unfortunate coincidence."
Noel Forgeard also sought to play down the importance of a costly production backlog affecting the world's largest passenger plane.
"It's a glitch," Forgeard said on Europe-1 radio. "All aircraft programs have suffered delays."
PHOTO: AP
Wiring problems with the much-touted double-decker A380 announced this week incensed airlines worldwide and ballooned into a debacle prompting questions about the leadership of EADS, a European project jointly run by French-German management.
One key question surrounds large stock sales by Forgeard, three of his children and other top EADS managers in mid-March.
"We were not aware, not the shareholders, not the directors" of the A380's problems at that point, Forgeard said. He said the troubles with the A380 surfaced in April, and that late last month they still seemed surmountable.
EADS' stock plummeted 26 percent on Wednesday after the announcements of the delay and a profit warning. The stock price rallied slightly yesterday, but remained well below prices in March, when Forgeard exercised US$3.1 million worth of options at US$40.21, and three of his children each sold US$1.75 million worth of shares at the time at US$41.23, according to the French stock market regulator AMF. Board members Francois Auque and Jean-Paul Gut also sold shares.
The stock sale was "an unfortunate coincidence," Forgeard said on Europe-1. "I have nothing to hide."
He noted that he exercised only half his stock options in the deal, and that it was announced publicly at the time.
"If I had had the slightest privileged information, I would not have sold the shares," he 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
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