■ Aviation
Indonesia to ban older jets
Indonesia is planning to ban local carriers from operating jetliners more than 10 years old as part of a safety campaign following a string of crashes and accidents, the government said yesterday. The plan is likely to be unpopular with Indonesia's booming airline industry, which may raise questions over its effectiveness given that many experts say that good maintenance of a plane, not its age, is the most important factor in airline safety. "The main thing is we need a renewal of our fleet," Transport Minister Hatta Rajasa said after a Cabinet meeting held on board the presidential train -- a decision taken to highlight the government's concerns on transport safety.
■ Stocks
TSE reticent about Nikko
The Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE) kept tight-lipped yesterday about a report that it was preparing to delist troubled brokerage house Nikko Cordial Group. The Nikkei newspaper said the bourse would delist the third-largest Japanese brokerage, which is partly owned by US financial empire Citigroup, citing a systematic accounting manipulation scandal. "With respect to the case, there is no truth that we have reached a concrete decision," the stock exchange said in a brief statement, issued before yesterday's trading started.
■ Automakers
Hyundai grows in Indonesia
South Korea's leading automaker Hyundai Motor said yesterday it would assemble trucks and buses at a plant in Indonesia from this month. Hyundai Motor said the plant, which has been built by Indonesia's Korindo Group with an investment of US$23 million, would have an annual production capacity of about 3,600 buses and 2,400 trucks. Korindo Group will be in charge of marketing and sales, it said. Demand for commercial vehicles in Indonesia is forecast to reach 400,000 vehicles this year on the back of an economic recovery, Hyundai said. Hyundai Motor already has an assembly plant for compact cars and mini-vans in Indonesia.
■ Retail
Macy's lifts Federated profit
Federated Department Stores Inc, the second-largest US department-store chain, said profit rose 4.9 percent on sales growth at its older Macy's locations. Results exceeded the company's forecast. Federated also said it planned to change the company's name to Macy's Group Inc and the board approved the repurchase of US$4 billion of company stock. Net income for the period ended Feb. 3 increased to US$733 million, or US$1.40 a share, from US$699 million, or US$1.26, a year earlier, the company said in a statement sent by Business Wire on Tuesday.
■ Macroeconomics
US reports sluggish growth
The US economy grew at a sluggish 2.2 percent pace in the final quarter of last year, much slower than initially thought as businesses tightened their belts amid fallout from the troubled housing and automotive industries. The fresh reading on GDP, released yesterday by the US Commerce Department, showed the economy in a considerably weaker state than the government first estimated, when it said the expansion in the last three months of last year was at a 3.5 percent pace. The new GDP figure for the October-to-December quarter was slightly slower than the 2.3 percent growth rate economists were forecasting and clearly less sunny than that original estimate.
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
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
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source