■ Automobiles
Foreign cars more popular
US consumers are buying more foreign than domestic cars so far this year, according to a survey by research firm RL Polk. The survey showed General Motors, Ford and the Chrysler Group of DaimlerChrysler captured just 47.1 percent of the US retail market in the first five months of the year, with imports accounting for 52.9 percent. The Polk data showed GM still holding the top position with sales of 1.17 million vehicles in the five-month period. followed by Toyota with 931,000, Ford with 768,000, Chrysler Group with 618,000 and Honda with 604,000.
■ Export
China to hit landmark
China is set to overtake Japan this year as the US' third-largest export market, a US trade official said yesterday. US exports to China grew 36.5 percent in the first five months of the year over the same period last year, Under Secretary for International Trade Franklin Lavin told reporters during a visit to China's business hub of Shanghai. "My prediction is, by the end of this year, China will be the US' third-largest export market, surpassing Japan, if this trend continues," Lavin said. US exports to China last year totaled US$41 billion, an increase of 25 percent from 2004.
■ Automobiles
Honda earns record profit
Honda Motor Co said yesterday that it achieved a record profit in the first quarter as a weaker yen and higher sales of fuel-efficient, compact cars caused sales to rise and earnings to jump 30 percent. Net profit at Japan's third-largest automaker rose to ¥143.4 billion (US$1.23 billion) in the April-to-June quarter as its sales soared 14.8 percent over the same quarter a year ago to ¥2.6 trillion, the company said. Its operating profit, which measures earnings before the deduction of interest payments and income taxes, rose 19.4 percent to ¥203.52 billion, it said.
■ Steel
Takeover progress released
Mittal Steel, the world's biggest steel producer, announced yesterday that it controls 91.88 percent of European steel maker Arcelor following its 25 billion euro (US$31.5 billion) takeover bid. "I am delighted at this result which is a resounding endorsement of the strategic logic and value of the merger of Mittal Steel and Arcelor, a truly industry transforming deal," Mittal chairman Lakshmi Mittal said in a statement received by media in London. Mittal Steel updated the market after announcing on July 18 that it had acquired at least 50 percent of the shares in the world's number two steelmaker Arcelor, the minimum required for its takeover bid to succeed.
■ Computers
HP buys Mercury
Hewlett-Packard Co on Tuesday announced a US$4.5 billion cash deal to buy Mercury Interactive Corp, a maker of business software. "This is a market-changing event," Mercury chief executive Tony Zingale said in a telephone conference. "The technologies fit together like a glove, and the portfolio is unmatched in the marketplace." Provided the acquisition clears regulatory hurdles as expected, the purchase should be completed by the year end, said HP vice president Thomas Hogan. HP will pay US$52 per share for Mercury, which is located in Mountain View, California. HP predicted that the acquisition would increase revenues by 10 to 15 percent and its operating margin by an estimated 20 percent in fiscal year 2008.
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