■ TRADE
Brazil reports the US
Brazil will ask the WTO to formally investigate US farm subsidy programs, which it says includes payments for ethanol production, a senior Brazilian official said on Tuesday. The South American country, which has already won a series of WTO rulings over US cotton subsidies, will make its request for an investigative panel soon, said Roberto Azevedo, the Brazilian Foreign Ministry's trade chief. The dispute could become a major case for the global commerce body, which has largely steered clear of energy issues in its 12-year history.
■ SOFTWARE
Microsoft patches released
Microsoft Corp released four software patches on Tuesday to fix security flaws, including one that could allow hackers to take over computers running the company's instant messaging programs. Only one of the flaws carried the company's most severe "critical" rating, and it only applies to the Windows 2000 operating system. To be affected, users would have to visit a Web site and install a program that could then run malicious code on their computers, said Mark Griesi, a security program manager at the Redmond-based software maker.
■ TRADE
EU warns China over goods
The EU will ban imports of some types of Chinese consumer goods unless the country responds to EU concerns about health and safety standards, the bloc's consumer protection chief said. "If China fails to respond positively or sufficiently to our request by October, we will move to the next step, which is a ban of certain goods such as toys," Consumer Protection Commissioner Meglena Kuneva told European parliamentarians. Kuneva has requested a report from the Chinese authorities over EU concerns regarding an influx of unsafe products from China such as toys, toothpaste and certain foods.
■ FINANCE
Wellington tightens rules
New Zealand is introducing tougher regulations for non-bank financial institutions after a string of failures of finance companies, the government said yesterday. Finance Minister Michael Cullen warned the new laws would not be a quick-fix for the finance industry, which has been hit by a run on funds mirroring credit fears in the US and elsewhere. New laws will require all financial institutions taking deposits to be registered with the central Reserve Bank of New Zealand and to comply with minimum prudential requirements. Among the requirements, non-bank institutions will have to get a credit rating from an approved agency, follow a minimum capital to debt ratio and restrict lending to related parties.
■ ECONOMY
US' CFOs bearish: poll
Confidence in the US economy has plunged sharply in recent weeks among hundreds of chief financial officers (CFO) working for US firms, a survey released on Tuesday showed. The survey of 580 US CFOs, conducted by Duke University and CFO magazine, found confidence had dropped to its lowest point since the survey began six years ago. Credit market turbulence, weak consumer demand and high labor costs were cited as the top concerns. The poll found that 61.7 percent of the CFOs were more pessimistic, while 13.6 percent were more optimistic about US economic prospects during the third quarter compared with the prior quarter.
NO-LIMITS PARTNERSHIP: ‘The bottom line’ is that if the US were to have a conflict with China or Russia it would likely open up a second front with the other, a US senator said Beijing and Moscow could cooperate in a conflict over Taiwan, the top US intelligence chief told the US Senate this week. “We see China and Russia, for the first time, exercising together in relation to Taiwan and recognizing that this is a place where China definitely wants Russia to be working with them, and we see no reason why they wouldn’t,” US Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines told a US Senate Committee on Armed Services hearing on Thursday. US Senator Mike Rounds asked Haines about such a potential scenario. He also asked US Defense Intelligence Agency Director Lieutenant General Jeffrey Kruse
China’s intrusive and territorial claims in the Indo-Pacific region are “illegal, coercive, aggressive and deceptive,” new US Indo-Pacific Commander Admiral Samuel Paparo said on Friday, adding that he would continue working with allies and partners to keep the area free and open. Paparo made the remarks at a change-of-command ceremony at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Hawaii, where he took over the command from Admiral John Aquilino. “Our world faces a complex problem set in the troubling actions of the People’s Republic of China [PRC] and its rapid buildup of forces. We must be ready to answer the PRC’s increasingly intrusive and
INSPIRING: Taiwan has been a model in the Asia-Pacific region with its democratic transition, free and fair elections and open society, the vice president-elect said Taiwan can play a leadership role in the Asia-Pacific region, vice president-elect Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) told a forum in Taipei yesterday, highlighting the nation’s resilience in the face of geopolitical challenges. “Not only can Taiwan help, but Taiwan can lead ... not only can Taiwan play a leadership role, but Taiwan’s leadership is important to the world,” Hsiao told the annual forum hosted by the Center for Asia-Pacific Resilience and Innovation think tank. Hsiao thanked Taiwan’s international friends for their long-term support, citing the example of US President Joe Biden last month signing into law a bill to provide aid to Taiwan,
UNWAVERING: Paraguay remains steadfast in its support of Taiwan, but is facing growing pressure at home and abroad to switch recognition to Beijing, Pena said Paraguayan President Santiago Pena has pledged to continue enhancing cooperation with Taiwan, as he and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida expressed opposition to any unilateral change to the “status quo” in the Taiwan Strait using force, Japanese media reported on Saturday. Kishida yesterday completed a trip to France, Brazil and Paraguay, his first visit to South America since taking office in 2021. After the Japanese leader and Pena spoke for more than an hour on Friday, exchanging views on the situation in East Asia in the face of China’s increasing military pressure on Taiwan, they affirmed that “unilateral attempts to change the