■ Trade
Japan posts record surplus
Japan yesterday reported a record ¥19.84 trillion (US$163.6 billion) current account surplus for last year, highlighting lopsided global trade flows that are fueling tensions over the weak yen. The surplus in the current account, the broadest measure of trade in goods and services, was up 8.7 percent last year, the first rise in two years, the finance ministry said. The major contributor was the income account surplus which grew 20.8 percent to ¥13.75 trillion due to solid returns on investments by firms and households and repatriated profits. Exports increased 14.3 percent to ¥71.62 trillion, helped by the declining value of the Japanese currency. Even so, the trade surplus shrank 8.5 percent to ¥9.46 trillion as high oil prices drove up the value of imports 18.9 percent to ¥62.16 trillion.
■ Beverages
Coca-Cola to cut 3,500 jobs
Coca-Cola Enterprises Inc (CCE), the biggest bottler of Coca-Cola Co beverages, said it would cut about 3,500 jobs as part of a restructuring expected to cost US$300 million. The cuts will amount to 5 percent of the company's work force. The move had been widely anticipated by analysts who said the company has struggled with higher costs for aluminum and other commodities and a shift in consumer tastes away from carbonated beverages to juices, teas and waters.
■ Communications
HK's marine cables fixed
Hong Kong's Office of the Telecommunications Authority (OFTA) said yesterday that Internet access in the territory had been fully restored with the completion of repairs to undersea cables damaged by an earthquake in Taiwan last December. OFTA said cable operators reported that repairs were finished to six damaged submarine cables which badly disrupted Internet access in parts of Asia. The quake snapped several international telecom cables, sparking widespread communication disruption in Taiwan, China, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, South Korea and elsewhere.
■ Aviation
Air France-KLM profit soars
Dynamic passenger traffic helped Air France-KLM triple its net profit in its third quarter despite a rising fuel bill, the world's largest airline by revenue said yesterday, confirming its outlook for the fiscal year ending March 31. Air France-KLM reported net profit of 229 million euros (US$298 million) for the October-December period, up from 77 million euros a year earlier and well above the 140 million euros expected by analysts.
■ Electronics
Sony shares surge
Sony Corp shares rose by more than 3 percent yesterday after the company said it was considering outsourcing part of the production of the microchips used in the PlayStation 3 game console. A Sony spokesman said the company expected a sharp drop in semiconductor related investment during the three fiscal years ending March 2010 from the ¥460 billion (US$3.79 billion) invested in the previous three years. Investors responded positively to the idea, with Sony shares closing ¥230 or 3.83 percent higher at 6,230 while the NIKKEI 225 share index added 131.19 points or 0.74 percent to 17,752.64. Earlier, the Nikkei newspaper reported that Sony would slash investment in its semiconductor operations to about ¥300 billion in the next three fiscal years.
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