■ BANKING
ANZ appoints new chief
Australia's third-largest bank, Australia and New Zealand (ANZ) Banking Group, announced yesterday that HSBC regional chief Mike Smith would take over its top job from Oct. 1, in a move expected to consolidate the bank's push into Asia. ANZ chairman Charles Goode said Smith, 50, would succeed John McFarlane as the bank's chief executive. Goode said ANZ undertook a global search before selecting Smith, who is currently chief executive and president of HSBC in Hong Kong, chairman of the Hang Seng and HSBC Malaysia banks, as well as global head of commercial banking for the giant HSBC.
■ BANKING
Citigroup ups stake in Nikko
Citigroup Inc has increased its stake in Nikko Cordial Corp to over two-thirds in terms of voting rights, giving it full control of Japan's third-largest brokerage, officials said yesterday. The US banking giant spent ?117 billion (US$961 million) to raise its stake in Nikko Cordial to 68.23 percent earlier this month, Citigroup spokeswoman Chikako Ooki said. It previously owned 61.08 percent of voting rights. Raising its stake above the key threshold allows Citigroup to call the shots at the scandal-tainted Japanese brokerage. With more than two-thirds of the voting rights, Citigroup no longer faces the prospect of a shareholder veto of its actions at Nikko Cordial.
■ PRODUCT SAFETY
Toothpaste recalled
A Florida company issued a US-wide recall of toothpaste it imported from China and distributed to wholesalers, saying that the product may contain a poisonous chemical. Gold City Enterprise LLC said the roughly 170,000 recalled Shir toothpaste products may contain diethylene glycol, a thickening agent used in antifreeze and as a cheaper substitute for the sweetener glycerin. No injuries or illnesses have been reported. The recalled toothpaste brands are Shir Fresh Mint Fluoride, Shir Fresh Ice Shir Mint Fluoride and Shir Fresh Cool Shir Mint Fluoride.
■ CRIME
Murakami claims innocence
Controversial investor-activist Yoshiaki Murakami declared his innocence yesterday on insider trading charges in the final hearing of a case that touched the central bank chief. Murakami, 47, a former bureaucrat turned aggressive fund manager, told the Tokyo District Court that the allegations against him were "a castle built on sand." "Hearing the prosecutor's claims, I cannot help but to think there was another Yoshiaki Murakami," he said. The court said it would hand down the verdict on July 19. Prosecutors have asked for a maximum three-year sentence and a fine and other penalties totalling ¥1.153 billion (US$9.2 million).
■ COMPUTERS
Number of PCs growing
The number of personal computers in use worldwide will top 1 billion by the end of next year and grow to 2 billion by 2015, a market research firm said on Monday. Forrester Research said its report expects an average annual growth rate of 12 percent in computers put in service between 2003 and 2015, with much of that coming from emerging markets and programs in place to reach previously untapped markets. Forrester said that the emerging economies of Brazil, Russia, India, and China would account for more than 775 million new PCs by 2015.
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
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
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
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