■ Technology
Sony, Hitachi delay reports
Sony Corp and Hitachi Ltd will delay earnings reports because they need more time to prepare for US accounting rules. Sony, which relies on the US for about 30 percent of sales, said yesterday it would delay results for this fiscal year ending March 31 by about three weeks to May 16. Hitachi will postpone earnings to mid-May. The Tokyo-based companies said a "large" number of subsidiaries slows paperwork preparation. Accounting standards under the US Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, which aim to protect investors from fraudulent activities, were extended to foreign firms listed in the US last year. Toyota Motor Corp and Mizuho Financial Group Inc yesterday said they had no plan to delay results.
■ South Korea
Paulson positive on growth
South Korean Finance Minister Kwon O-kyu said US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson sounded optimistic yesterday about sustained growth in the US economy, despite concerns about the country's housing market. The ministry also said in a statement, issued after his meeting with Kwon in Seoul, that both officials agreed to cooperate over an early and smooth conclusion in free trade agreement negotiations. "Secretary Paulson assessed that the US economy was successfully entering into a stable growth path, despite a slump in the US real estate market," the ministry said in the Korean-language statement.
■ United Kingdom
British are bargain hunters
British consumers are among those most likely to shop around for a financial bargain, according to independent market analyst Datamonitor. It found that customer loyalty continues to decline across European retail banking markets, particularly in Britain and Nordic countries. The UK is one of the most competitive and developed retail banking markets in the world, with highly aggressive players and cutthroat pricing, Datamonitor said. Consumers tend to shop around most for credit cards, personal loans and mortgages, while those in Italy, Spain and Austria are the most loyal to financial services providers.
■ Retail
Free shipping offered
Wal-Mart Stores Inc, the world's largest retailer, is offering free shipping of items ordered online and picked up at one of more than 750 stores. Wal-Mart plans to expand the program to the remainder of its more than 3,300 US Wal-Mart stores by September, the Bentonville, Arkansas-based company said today in a statement. Tens of thousands of items are included in the program. About two-thirds of customers who have used the service, which Wal-Mart started testing in 2004, shop at Wal-Mart stores at least once a week, Walmart.com Chief executive officer Raul Vazquez said in the statement.
■ Economics
Japan to name board two
Japan's government will appoint a vice president of Japan's largest trading company and a shipping company executive to the Bank of Japan's monetary policy board, a newspaper reported yesterday. The government decided yesterday to appoint Mitsubishi Corp vice president Hidetoshi Kamezaki and MOL Ferry Co president Seiji Nakamura to replace two board members whose terms expire in April, the Nikkei business daily said. Financial markets are watching closely to see who the government will name for the Bank's policy board.
NO HUMAN ERROR: After the incident, the Coast Guard Administration said it would obtain uncrewed aerial vehicles and vessels to boost its detection capacity Authorities would improve border control to prevent unlawful entry into Taiwan’s waters and safeguard national security, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday after a Chinese man reached the nation’s coast on an inflatable boat, saying he “defected to freedom.” The man was found on a rubber boat when he was about to set foot on Taiwan at the estuary of Houkeng River (後坑溪) near Taiping Borough (太平) in New Taipei City’s Linkou District (林口), authorities said. The Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) northern branch said it received a report at 6:30am yesterday morning from the New Taipei City Fire Department about a
IN BEIJING’S FAVOR: A China Coast Guard spokesperson said that the Chinese maritime police would continue to carry out law enforcement activities in waters it claims The Philippines withdrew its coast guard vessel from a South China Sea shoal that has recently been at the center of tensions with Beijing. BRP Teresa Magbanua “was compelled to return to port” from Sabina Shoal (Xianbin Shoal, 仙濱暗沙) due to bad weather, depleted supplies and the need to evacuate personnel requiring medical care, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesman Jay Tarriela said yesterday in a post on X. The Philippine vessel “will be in tiptop shape to resume her mission” after it has been resupplied and repaired, Philippine Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, who heads the nation’s maritime council, said
REGIONAL STABILITY: Taipei thanked the Biden administration for authorizing its 16th sale of military goods and services to uphold Taiwan’s defense and safety The US Department of State has approved the sale of US$228 million of military goods and services to Taiwan, the US Department of Defense said on Monday. The state department “made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale” to the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the US for “return, repair and reshipment of spare parts and related equipment,” the defense department’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency said in a news release. Taiwan had requested the purchase of items and services which include the “return, repair and reshipment of classified and unclassified spare parts for aircraft and related equipment; US Government
More than 500 people on Saturday marched in New York in support of Taiwan’s entry to the UN, significantly more people than previous years. The march, coinciding with the ongoing 79th session of the UN General Assembly, comes close on the heels of growing international discourse regarding the meaning of UN Resolution 2758. Resolution 2758, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1971, recognizes the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as the “only lawful representative of China.” It resulted in the Republic of China (ROC) losing its seat at the UN to the PRC. Taiwan has since been excluded from