■ Australia
Economic growth slows
The economy slowed more than expected in the last quarter and its worst drought in a 100 years was likely to keep the pressure on, official figures showed yesterday. GDP for the three months to September grew a seasonally adjusted 0.3 percent -- or 2.2 percent annually -- after an upwardly revised 0.5 percent in the second quarter, originally given as 0.3 percent. Economists had forecast 0.4 percent growth, but latest data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed the impact of the country's "big dry" had hampered a robust rise in exports. Treasurer Peter Costello said that while the figures showed solid growth, the severe drought was likely to eat into future gains.
■ China
Nation targets 8% growth
The nation has set an official economic growth target for next year of about 8 percent despite expectations the expansion will be much faster, a senior government economist said yesterday. "The central government set the annual target at about 8 percent," said Zheng Xinli (鄭新立), vice director of the economic policy research office under the politburo. Zhen was speaking to reporters after attending the ongoing annual closed-door Central Economic Work Conference where the ruling Communist Party's leaders were meeting to identify the key economic issues for the next year.
■ Tires
Bridgestone buys Bandag
Tire maker Bridgestone Americas Holding Inc has agreed to buy Bandag Inc, a maker of retread tires, for US$1 billion in cash, the companies announced on Tuesday. Bridgestone Americas, a subsidiary of Japan-based Bridgestone Corp, will pay US$50.75 per share for Bandag, a 13 percent premium to the company's closing stock price on Monday. The Bandag board of directors approved the sale, which is expected to close by the second quarter of next year. The deal is subject to regulatory and shareholder approval. The Iowa-based Bandag has a global network of more than 900 franchised dealers.
■ Retail
Tesco buys Malaysia stores
Tesco Plc, Britain's biggest retailer, bought eight Makro Cash & Carry stores in Malaysia to almost double its selling space in the Southeast Asian country. The company will "move close to becoming market leader" in Malaysia as a result of the purchase, Tesco said Wednesday in a Regulatory News Service statement. It didn't disclose the price. Tesco won a bid to buy the Makro stores, the Business Times reported Dec. 1, citing people it didn't identify. The UK company beat bidders including Carrefour SA, Wal-Mart Stores Inc, Costco Wholesale Group of the US and Metro AG of Germany, the Malaysian newspaper said.
■ Finance
Mitsubishi faces discipline
US authorities are expected to discipline Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc for alleged lax monitoring of suspected money laundering activities, a report said yesterday. US officials have visited Japan and held final discussions with the banking group, the world's largest by assets, about the terms of the penalties, the Nihon Keizai Shimbun said without naming sources. The US Federal Reserve Board and other US authorities could announce punitive measures decision as early as in the middle of December if Mitsubishi signs an agreement, the business daily reported.
The government is aiming to recruit 1,096 foreign English teachers and teaching assistants this year, the Ministry of Education said yesterday. The foreign teachers would work closely with elementary and junior-high instructors to create and teach courses, ministry official Tsai Yi-ching (蔡宜靜) said. Together, they would create an immersive language environment, helping to motivate students while enhancing the skills of local teachers, she said. The ministry has since 2021 been recruiting foreign teachers through the Taiwan Foreign English Teacher Program, which offers placement, salary, housing and other benefits to eligible foreign teachers. Two centers serving northern and southern Taiwan assist in recruiting and training
WIDE NET: Health officials said they are considering all possibilities, such as bongkrekic acid, while the city mayor said they have not ruled out the possibility of a malicious act of poisoning Two people who dined at a restaurant in Taipei’s Far Eastern Department Store Xinyi A13 last week have died, while four are in intensive care, the Taipei Department of Health said yesterday. All of the outlets of Malaysian vegetarian restaurant franchise Polam Kopitiam have been ordered to close pending an investigation after 11 people became ill due to suspected food poisoning, city officials told a news conference in Taipei. The first fatality, a 39-year-old man who ate at the restaurant on Friday last week, died of kidney failure two days later at the city’s Mackay Memorial Hospital. A 66-year-old man who dined
EYE ON STRAIT: The US spending bill ‘doubles security cooperation funding for Taiwan,’ while also seeking to counter the influence of China US President Joe Biden on Saturday signed into law a US$1.2 trillion spending package that includes US$300 million in foreign military financing to Taiwan, as well as funding for Taipei-Washington cooperative projects. The US Congress early on Saturday overwhelmingly passed the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act 2024 to avoid a partial shutdown and fund the government through September for a fiscal year that began six months ago. Under the package, the Defense Appropriations Act would provide a US$27 billion increase from the previous fiscal year to fund “critical national defense efforts, including countering the PRC [People’s Republic of China],” according to a summary
‘CARRIER KILLERS’: The Tuo Chiang-class corvettes’ stealth capability means they have a radar cross-section as small as the size of a fishing boat, an analyst said President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday presided over a ceremony at Yilan County’s Suao Harbor (蘇澳港), where the navy took delivery of two indigenous Tuo Chiang-class corvettes. The corvettes, An Chiang (安江) and Wan Chiang (萬江), along with the introduction of the coast guard’s third and fourth 4,000-tonne cutters earlier this month, are a testament to Taiwan’s shipbuilding capability and signify the nation’s resolve to defend democracy and freedom, Tsai said. The vessels are also the last two of six Tuo Chiang-class corvettes ordered from Lungteh Shipbuilding Co (龍德造船) by the navy, Tsai said. The first Tuo Chiang-class vessel delivered was Ta Chiang (塔江)