■ South Korea
Fitch affirms A-plus rating
Fitch Ratings yesterday affirmed South Korea's sovereign rating at A-plus with a stable outlook, citing the country's strong credit fundamentals and a manageable security threat from North Korea. South Korea's "fiscal conservatism, foreign exchange reserves, liquidity ratio and net external creditor position" justify the current rating, upgraded eight months ago, the global credit evaluator said. Fitch, however, said high oil prices, a stronger local currency and a gradual slowdown in demand from South Korea's major trading partners may hamper a much stronger economic recovery. Fitch also expressed concerns over security risks over North Korea's boycotting of the six-party talks -- which also groups the US, South Korea, Japan, China and Russia -- since November. But it added it believes that the other parties will not allow the talks, aimed at ending North Korean nuclear ambitions, to collapse despite Pyongyang's unpredictable actions.
■ Currencies
Dollar rises on missile jitters
The dollar rose in Asia yesterday as worries that North Korea may test-fire a long-range missile sent the Japanese currency lower. In the midafternoon, the dollar was trading at ¥115.61 in Tokyo, up ¥0.52 from late Friday in New York, and rose as high as ¥115.78 temporarily, the highest level since it traded at ¥116.20 on April 24. The euro fell to US$1.2596, from US$1.2635. The yen fell to a record low against the euro, with the euro momentarily trading at ¥145.86, the highest level since the euro was introduced in 1999. The euro later lost its earlier gains. Fears that North Korea was taking steps to test-launch a missile believed capable of reaching the US added to pessimism about the yen, which is vulnerable to threats to political stability in the Asian region.
■ Stock exchanges
LSE could face challenger
A merger of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and European counterpart Euronext could pave the way for setting up a London bourse to rival the long-established London Stock Exchange (LSE), NYSE chief executive John Thain said in comments published in London yesterday. If a combined NYSE/Euronext didn't attract enough new listings "there would be two options," Thain said in an interview with the Financial Times. "The first of which would be to set up our own exchange in London." The other option, he said, would be to buy the LSE. NYSE rival NASDAQ owns 25 percent of the LSE.
■ Automobiles
Japanese trucks make gains
US automakers are producing more hits with cars, but are facing steeper competition from Japan in trucks, an area the US once dominated, according to a vehicle quality study released yesterday. The US Big Three had the top-scoring vehicles in five out of 10 car categories in the annual vehicle quality study by Strategic Vision Inc, a San Diego-based market research firm and consultant to automakers. A notable winner was the Ford Fusion, which prevailed in the medium car category. In trucks, Japanese companies took six out of 10 categories. The winners included the Honda Odyssey for minivan and the Nissan Armada for large SUV. Detroit is "playing catch-up, but the competition is moving ahead at the same time," said Daniel Gorrell, vice president of Strategic Vision. "The imports are really developing a strong foothold in the truck market."
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
BULLY TACTICS: Beijing has continued its incursions into Taiwan’s airspace even as Xi Jinping talked about Taiwan being part of the Chinese family and nation China should stop its coercion of Taiwan and respect mainstream public opinion in Taiwan about sovereignty if its expression of goodwill is genuine, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said yesterday. Ministry spokesman Jeff Liu (劉永健) made the comment in response to media queries about a meeting between former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) the previous day. Ma voiced support for the so-called “1992 consensus,” while Xi said that although the two sides of the Taiwan Strait have “different systems,” this does not change the fact that they are “part of the same country,” and that “external
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