■ Finance
Thai controls staying
Currency control measures that rattled the stock market in Thailand could remain in place for at least six months, the central bank governor said yesterday. Bank of Thailand governor Tarisa Watanagse said that last week's measures -- which restrict foreign capital inflows into the bond and commercial paper markets -- must remain in place for around three to six months to ensure they actually curb the baht's appreciation. "Once the baht is moving in line with regional currencies, the measures will become unnecessary," Tarisa said.
■ Energy
Gazprom hikes gas price
Russian state gas monopoly Gazprom has accumulated extra gas reserves in German storage areas to guard against possible cuts to Belarus and reduced gas transit to Europe, an industry source said yesterday. Gazprom warned Belarus on Monday it would have to pay higher prices for gas from next year and cede control over its pipelines to the Russian firm or face reduced supplies from the New Year. The Russian company's threat raised the specter of a repeat of last year's New Year gas dispute with Ukraine that saw supplies cut off briefly. Belarus is the key transit route for Russian gas to Poland and Germany, Gazprom's biggest client in Europe.
■ Electronics
Sharp mulls Mexico plant
Japan's Sharp Corp said yesterday it was considering building a new plant in Mexico amid growing North American demand. "The demand for LCD TVs, especially those of bigger-size panels, is growing in the North American market," said a Sharp spokeswoman. The Nihon Keizai Shimbun business daily reported yesterday that Sharp will invest about ¥5 billion (US$42 million) to construct the new factory in Mexico. The plant will begin producing around 100,000 sets a month from next fall, bringing Sharp's total output capacity of LCD TVs to around 150,000 units a month, the report said.
■ Japan
Number of jobless falls
The nation's jobless rate fell slightly and prices edged up last month, the government said yesterday, but a drop in consumer spending suggested a quick interest rate hike was unlikely. Japan's unemployment rate for last month dropped to 4 percent from 4.1 percent a month earlier, the government said. The nationwide core consumer price index, meanwhile, rose 0.2 percent on year last month, the government said. The government took the news as a sign the world's second-largest economy was on a stable recovery path. But household spending for last month dropped 0.7 percent on year, suggesting a lack of growth in paychecks is enforcing limits on consumption.
■ Electronics
Sanyo targets efficiency
Sanyo Electric Co will move its sales and consumer services divisions into separate companies to improve efficiency. The company's domestic sales operations will be combined with three sales subsidiaries into a new company with 1,800 employees, Sanyo said in a release yesterday. The consumer services unit, which maintains air conditioners and home appliances, will be split off into a new company with 1,400 employees. The new companies will be established on April 1. Sanyo last month forecast its third annual loss, reversing a May target for a profit, because it will spend an additional ¥40 billion (US$336 million) to cut 2,200 jobs.
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