■ Automobiles
Ford upbeat following plan
Ford Motor Co predicted on Wednesday that its North American manufacturing plants will be running at 100 percent capacity by 2008 following its restructuring plan that expects to shutter 16 plants within the next six years. Ford said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that it planned to build 3 million vehicles without paying overtime while its "maximum installed" capacity would be 3.6 million vehicles, which would include overtime. The automaker said capacity in 2008 would be projected at 100 percent "as a result of plant idlings as well as shift eliminations and linespeed reductions."
■ Betting
Sportingbet keen on US
The chief executive of Sportingbet said that he is determined to expand activities in the US, where the online gaming company's chairman was arrested earlier this month. In an interview with the Financial Times, Andrew McIver said he believed the US was the only market worth serious investment. "It's the US -- or what's the point? I still hold that view," the newspaper quoted McIver as saying. US bets account for about two-thirds of the profits at Sportingbet, which reported profit of ?20.7 million (US$20.7 million) and revenue of ?276.1 million from the Americas in the nine months ended April 30.
■ Lifestyle
Ginseng Expo opens
South Korea yesterday opened an international exhibition in honor of a herb. The theme of the 2006 World Ginseng Expo in Geumsan county is "Ginseng, Root of Life" and the exhibition aims to promote the plant's health-giving properties. Sixty-five companies and agencies from eight countries are taking part in the exhibition the government said in a statement on its Web site. More than 100 buyers are expected and domestic and foreign scholars will present 250 papers about ginseng's medical efficacy and other subjects.
■ Fraud
Skilling on alcohol rap
Former Enron CEO Jeffrey Skilling was ticketed for public intoxication earlier this month in Dallas, according to a newspaper report. Skilling, convicted in May of fraud, conspiracy, insider trading and lying to auditors in the investigation following the company's 2001 collapse, was arrested on Sept. 9, according to a report in Wednesday's online edition of the Houston Chronicle. Public intoxication is punishable by a fine of up to US$500. He received a US$385 ticket and was briefly detained in a city jail. Skilling faces 20 to 30 years in prison in the Enron case and is scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 23.
■ Aviation
Airbus announces delays
European Aeronautic Defense & Space Co said yesterday that it expects further delays in the troubled Airbus A380 program. "Continuing industrialization challenges with the wiring of production aircraft have been identified and are being tackled," it said in a statement. "Consequently, from what is known today, there will be further delays." The company did not provide further details of the cost or timeframe of the delays except to say that it expects to complete a review of the program in four weeks. The company had already admitted there will be some delays to the program, but has come under strong pressure in recent days after reports suggested further delays were about to be announced.
NO-LIMITS PARTNERSHIP: ‘The bottom line’ is that if the US were to have a conflict with China or Russia it would likely open up a second front with the other, a US senator said Beijing and Moscow could cooperate in a conflict over Taiwan, the top US intelligence chief told the US Senate this week. “We see China and Russia, for the first time, exercising together in relation to Taiwan and recognizing that this is a place where China definitely wants Russia to be working with them, and we see no reason why they wouldn’t,” US Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines told a US Senate Committee on Armed Services hearing on Thursday. US Senator Mike Rounds asked Haines about such a potential scenario. He also asked US Defense Intelligence Agency Director Lieutenant General Jeffrey Kruse
INSPIRING: Taiwan has been a model in the Asia-Pacific region with its democratic transition, free and fair elections and open society, the vice president-elect said Taiwan can play a leadership role in the Asia-Pacific region, vice president-elect Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) told a forum in Taipei yesterday, highlighting the nation’s resilience in the face of geopolitical challenges. “Not only can Taiwan help, but Taiwan can lead ... not only can Taiwan play a leadership role, but Taiwan’s leadership is important to the world,” Hsiao told the annual forum hosted by the Center for Asia-Pacific Resilience and Innovation think tank. Hsiao thanked Taiwan’s international friends for their long-term support, citing the example of US President Joe Biden last month signing into law a bill to provide aid to Taiwan,
China’s intrusive and territorial claims in the Indo-Pacific region are “illegal, coercive, aggressive and deceptive,” new US Indo-Pacific Commander Admiral Samuel Paparo said on Friday, adding that he would continue working with allies and partners to keep the area free and open. Paparo made the remarks at a change-of-command ceremony at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Hawaii, where he took over the command from Admiral John Aquilino. “Our world faces a complex problem set in the troubling actions of the People’s Republic of China [PRC] and its rapid buildup of forces. We must be ready to answer the PRC’s increasingly intrusive and
STATE OF THE NATION: The legislature should invite the president to deliver an address every year, the TPP said, adding that Lai should also have to answer legislators’ questions The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday proposed inviting president-elect William Lai (賴清德) to make a historic first state of the nation address at the legislature following his inauguration on May 20. Lai is expected to face many domestic and international challenges, and should clarify his intended policies with the public’s representatives, KMT caucus secretary-general Hung Meng-kai (洪孟楷) said when making the proposal at a meeting of the legislature’s Procedure Committee. The committee voted to add the item to the agenda for Friday, along with another similar proposal put forward by the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP). The invitation is in line with Article 15-2