■ PORTS
LA container traffic drops
The busiest port complex in the US could see its first decline in container traffic in four years because of the housing market slump and a loss of consumer confidence that is making retailers cautious about importing goods. Volume at the adjoining Los Angeles and Long Beach ports had been expected to increase by 5 percent to 9 percent this year over last year, but now container traffic may remain flat or even decline, officials said on Friday. The ports handled about 15.8 million cargo containers last year and they had record growth in exports this summer.
■ FINANCE
Eurozone ministers meet
The euro's recent record strength will be in focus today when finance ministers from the 13-state eurozone meet in Luxembourg to hammer out a joint message to take to an upcoming G7 meeting. The eurozone wants a tougher line on exchange rates from finance chiefs from the G7 richest countries when they meet in Washington, said Jean-Claude Juncker, the chairman of the Eurogroup of finance ministers. Eurozone finance ministers are to be joined tomorrow at the Luxembourg meeting by their counterparts from the full 27 EU members for talks focusing on public finances.
■ BANKING
More subprime crisis pain
The head of UBS publicly admitted on Saturday that the giant Swiss bank had underestimated the crisis in the US subprime home loans credit market and that several top executives paid for that mistake with their jobs. UBS president Marcel Ospel told the Neue Zuercher Zeitung newspaper the bank had over-invested in subprime-related instruments, even though he stressed its size and other activities would help it pull through. "We poorly evaluated the impact of changing interest rates" in the US, which triggered the problems in that country's mortgage sector, he said.
■ ENTERTAINMENT
Hollywood close to strike
Talks between Hollywood writers and studios abruptly broke off for the weekend, dimming hopes of averting a strike that could cripple the US TV industry. The Writers' Guild of America has been in talks since July with studios represented by the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. In statements on Friday, each side accused the other of intransigence and expressed frustration at the sluggish pace of negotiations. The writers' contract expires on Oct. 31. Studios and TV networks have accelerated filming of shows and movies and begun stockpiling scripts in case of a strike.
■ AUTOMOBILES
VW forms pact with Proton
German auto giant Volkswagen is close to forming a pact with Proton with at least an initial 20 percent stake in the loss-making Malaysian carmaker, a report said yesterday. The Edge business weekly newspaper said Volkswagen would either take the stake in Proton or a new company into which Proton assets would be injected. "Volkswagen is also seeking management control and will require the government to underwrite any losses at Proton for at least three years," it said. The report came after reports that Volkswagen boss Martin Winterkorn would visit Malaysia soon to conclude a deal.
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