■ Steel
Cross-strait firms pen deal
Wuhan Iron & Steel Group (武鋼), China's third-largest steelmaker, and Taiwan's China Steel Corp (中鋼) have agreed to cooperate in technology development and staff training to compete with rivals such as Nippon Steel Corp. China's State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission said on Thursday that Wuhan Steel and China Steel signed the accord on Monday. The partnership will cover marketing and company management. Japan's Nippon Steel and South Korea's Posco, Asia's two largest steelmakers, said on Sunday they will spend more than US$900 million to boost crossholdings.
■ Oil
Record profit reported
The world's largest company, ExxonMobil Corp, announced record profits for last quarter of US$10.49 billion on Thursday on the back of red-hot oil prices. ExxonMobil said its net profits spiked 26 percent from US$8.30 billion in the same period last year. Earnings per share of US$1.77 for the quarter, up from US$1.32 a year ago, were well above most Wall Street predictions of US$1.58 dollars.ExxonMobil's shares rose, but the political heat on the company mounted as top Democratic lawmakers including Senator Hillary Clinton accused it of squeezing consumers and demanded an end to industry tax breaks.
■ Automobiles
Ford reiterates priorities
Although it's fighting financial troubles, US automaker Ford reiterated its commitment to investing in new products and technology, a senior executive said yesterday. "Despite the difficult times at Ford, we think it's extremely important to invest in the product," said Susan Cischke, vice president overseeing environmental and safety engineering at Ford Motor Co. Cischke said in Tokyo that Ford sees ecological technology as crucial, including more efficient gas engines, hybrids that deliver better mileage, and the more futuristic fuel cell vehicles.
■ Aircraft
Airbus delays delivery
European aircraft manufacturer Airbus will deliver six A380 aircraft to Virgin Atlantic in 2013, a four-year delay, the British company said on Thursday. "Virgin Atlantic has reached an agreement in principle with Airbus to defer deliveries of its Airbus A380 aircraft until 2013," a spokeswoman for the airline told reporters, specifying this represented a delay of four years. "By then, we believe, the A380 will have proven its innovative design over several years in commercial service," she said. At the beginning of October, Airbus announced a third delay for delivery of the super-jumbo, because of persistent manufacturing problems.
■ Energy
Russia probes Sakhalin-2
The Russian Prosecutor General's Office said yesterday it may launch a criminal case over alleged environmental violations at a giant Shell-led energy project, as officials continue to crank up the pressure at the troubled multibillion-dollar development. "The Prosecutor General's Office plans to inspect materials provided by the Natural Resource Ministry on ecological violations during the Sakhalin-2 project," prosecution spokesman Konstantin Nikonov told reporters. "If there are sufficient grounds after this inspection a criminal case will be opened," 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
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
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
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