■ ECONOMY
Greenspan sees slowdown
While US economic data look good in the third quarter, the growth rate will continue to slow and the housing market will weaken further, former US Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan said on Wednesday. Economic growth should continue to slow through the rest of the year and into the first quarter of next year, while home prices have further to drop, Greenspan said in New York. "The critical question is the price level of homes in the United States, which are almost certainly going to fall," he said. Given the current climate, the odds that the US will skirt a recession now look better than 50/50, he said.
■ STEEL
US backs continued tariffs
In a victory for US steel makers, the federal government agreed to continue tariffs on imports of certain steel products from China, India, Indonesia, Taiwan, Thailand and Ukraine. However, the US International Trade Com-mission eliminated tariffs for imports from Argentina, Kazakhstan, Romania and South Africa. Tariffs were first imposed in 2001 and vary depending on the country, but are as high as 90 percent for China. The duties were imposed to counteract what the US and other nations call unfair trade practices, such as dumping or selling a product below production costs. Under WTO rules, the US must review the tariffs every five years.
■ ENERGY
Gas field found in China
PetroChina, China's largest oil and gas company, has discovered a major gasfield in the nation's northwest Xinjiang region, the China Daily reported yesterday. The gasfield -- Dabei III -- boasts an estimated reserve of up to 130 billion cubic meters, the newspaper reported, citing an unnamed source with the company. It "will serve as an important back up supply source for the west-east gas pipelines," the source said, adding that the company will drill more appraisal wells to determine the final reserve. The announcement of the discovery comes after PetroChina won approval last month for a domestic listing expected this year which could raise up to 40 billion yuan (US$5.3 billion).
■ BANKING
ABN Amro chairman named
ABN Amro announced yesterday that it will nominate Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) executive Mark Fisher as its new chairman, following the takeover of the Dutch lender by the RBS-led consortium. The consortium of RBS, Fortis and Banco Santander on Wednesday declared victory in the battle for ABN Amro, sealing the biggest takeover in banking history and prompting the resignation of ABN chairman Rijkman Groenink. The Dutch bank also announced that its supervisory board would be joined by Fortis chairman Jean-Paul Votron, RBS chairman Sir Fred Goodwin and the general manager of Banco Santander, Juan Inciarte. The consortium bid values the Dutch lender at about US$100 billion.
■ TELECOMS
Sanyo to sell phone line
Sanyo Electric Co said yesterday that it had signed a tentative deal with Kyocera Corp on a possible sale of its mobile telephone manufacturing business. Sanyo has granted Kyocera priority negotiating rights under an agreement approved by the boards of the two firms, a Sanyo statement said. No financial details were given.
The government is aiming to recruit 1,096 foreign English teachers and teaching assistants this year, the Ministry of Education said yesterday. The foreign teachers would work closely with elementary and junior-high instructors to create and teach courses, ministry official Tsai Yi-ching (蔡宜靜) said. Together, they would create an immersive language environment, helping to motivate students while enhancing the skills of local teachers, she said. The ministry has since 2021 been recruiting foreign teachers through the Taiwan Foreign English Teacher Program, which offers placement, salary, housing and other benefits to eligible foreign teachers. Two centers serving northern and southern Taiwan assist in recruiting and training
WIDE NET: Health officials said they are considering all possibilities, such as bongkrekic acid, while the city mayor said they have not ruled out the possibility of a malicious act of poisoning Two people who dined at a restaurant in Taipei’s Far Eastern Department Store Xinyi A13 last week have died, while four are in intensive care, the Taipei Department of Health said yesterday. All of the outlets of Malaysian vegetarian restaurant franchise Polam Kopitiam have been ordered to close pending an investigation after 11 people became ill due to suspected food poisoning, city officials told a news conference in Taipei. The first fatality, a 39-year-old man who ate at the restaurant on Friday last week, died of kidney failure two days later at the city’s Mackay Memorial Hospital. A 66-year-old man who dined
RESTAURANT POISONING? Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Victor Wang at a press conference last night said this was the first time bongkrekic acid was detected in Taiwan An autopsy discovered bongkrekic acid in a specimen collected from a person who died from food poisoning after dining at the Malaysian restaurant chain Polam Kopitiam, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said at a news conference last night. It was the first time bongkrekic acid was detected in Taiwan, Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Victor Wang (王必勝) said. The testing conducted by forensic specialists at National Taiwan University was facilitated after a hospital voluntarily offered standard samples it had in stock that are required to test for bongkrekic acid, he said. Wang told the news conference that testing would continue despite
‘CARRIER KILLERS’: The Tuo Chiang-class corvettes’ stealth capability means they have a radar cross-section as small as the size of a fishing boat, an analyst said President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday presided over a ceremony at Yilan County’s Suao Harbor (蘇澳港), where the navy took delivery of two indigenous Tuo Chiang-class corvettes. The corvettes, An Chiang (安江) and Wan Chiang (萬江), along with the introduction of the coast guard’s third and fourth 4,000-tonne cutters earlier this month, are a testament to Taiwan’s shipbuilding capability and signify the nation’s resolve to defend democracy and freedom, Tsai said. The vessels are also the last two of six Tuo Chiang-class corvettes ordered from Lungteh Shipbuilding Co (龍德造船) by the navy, Tsai said. The first Tuo Chiang-class vessel delivered was Ta Chiang (塔江)