■ FOREX
US dollar hits record low
The dollar fell to another record low against the euro yesterday on growing speculation that the US Federal Reserve will cut US borrowing costs. The euro leapt to US$1.4467 in early European trading, which beat the previous record US$1.4441 that was set in New York on Tuesday. The greenback has also slid against other currencies, including the British pound and the Australian and Canadian dollars, ahead of the anxiously awaited Fed rate call yesterday. The pound surged as high as US$2.0743 -- the highest level since the second quarter of 1981.
■ ECONOMY
BOJ cuts growth forecast
Japan's central bank yesterday cut its growth forecast to 1.8 percent for the current fiscal year but predicted a pick-up next year along with a return to inflation. The Japanese economy remains on track to expand by 2.1 percent in the next fiscal year, the Bank of Japan (BOJ) said, while trimming its previous projection for 2.1 percent growth this year. The bank said the downgrade for this year was partly the result of a drop in construction activity due to increased earthquake resistance standards. Consumer prices are expected to remain flat this year but rise by 0.4 percent next year, the report said.
■ TRADE
Dumping probes decrease
The number of anti-dumping probes launched by trading nations against alleged unfairly priced imports fell sharply in the first six months of the year, the WTO said on Tuesday. Between January and June, 13 WTO members reported a total of 49 new investigations against importers, compared with 92 initiations in the first six months of last year, new data released by the WTO showed. Chinese companies remained the most frequent target of suspicions that they sold exported goods at a lower price than on their home market, with 16 fresh probes directed at exports from China. Taiwan, EU nations and South Korea were the second most frequent subjects, with four new investigations.
■ TELECOMS
Alcatel-Lucent cutting jobs
Alcatel-Lucent, the French-US telecommunications equipment maker, said yesterday that it would cut 4,000 more jobs by 2009. The announcement came as the company reported its financial results for the third quarter. No details on the further reduction in staff were given. The company had previously announced job cuts in February, shortly after the merger of the French firm Alcatel and the US company Lucent.
■ cHINA
Investors stage sit-in
Unhappy investors raided the office of a Chinese health goods company in Jinan City and staged a sit-in to protest the firm's collapse, reports said yesterday. The protests were triggered last Friday by the apparent bankruptcy of Shandong Jizheng Health Care Products Co and the disappearance of the firm's management, the South China Morning Post and other newspapers in Hong Kong reported. The protesters demanded that the city government compensate them for losses of billions of yuan in investments in the company, the Post and Ming Pao reported. The Web site of the China Anti-Pyramid Selling Association said the firm allegedly lured investors, often farmers, with promises of high rates of returns from its sales of health supplements, teas, wines and other products.
MORE VISITORS: The Tourism Administration said that it is seeing positive prospects in its efforts to expand the tourism market in North America and Europe Taiwan has been ranked as the cheapest place in the world to travel to this year, based on a list recommended by NerdWallet. The San Francisco-based personal finance company said that Taiwan topped the list of 16 nations it chose for budget travelers because US tourists do not need visas and travelers can easily have a good meal for less than US$10. A bus ride in Taipei costs just under US$0.50, while subway rides start at US$0.60, the firm said, adding that public transportation in Taiwan is easy to navigate. The firm also called Taiwan a “food lover’s paradise,” citing inexpensive breakfast stalls
TRADE: A mandatory declaration of origin for manufactured goods bound for the US is to take effect on May 7 to block China from exploiting Taiwan’s trade channels All products manufactured in Taiwan and exported to the US must include a signed declaration of origin starting on May 7, the Bureau of Foreign Trade announced yesterday. US President Donald Trump on April 2 imposed a 32 percent tariff on imports from Taiwan, but one week later announced a 90-day pause on its implementation. However, a universal 10 percent tariff was immediately applied to most imports from around the world. On April 12, the Trump administration further exempted computers, smartphones and semiconductors from the new tariffs. In response, President William Lai’s (賴清德) administration has introduced a series of countermeasures to support affected
CROSS-STRAIT: The vast majority of Taiwanese support maintaining the ‘status quo,’ while concern is rising about Beijing’s influence operations More than eight out of 10 Taiwanese reject Beijing’s “one country, two systems” framework for cross-strait relations, according to a survey released by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Thursday. The MAC’s latest quarterly survey found that 84.4 percent of respondents opposed Beijing’s “one country, two systems” formula for handling cross-strait relations — a figure consistent with past polling. Over the past three years, opposition to the framework has remained high, ranging from a low of 83.6 percent in April 2023 to a peak of 89.6 percent in April last year. In the most recent poll, 82.5 percent also rejected China’s
PLUGGING HOLES: The amendments would bring the legislation in line with systems found in other countries such as Japan and the US, Legislator Chen Kuan-ting said Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Kuan-ting (陳冠廷) has proposed amending national security legislation amid a spate of espionage cases. Potential gaps in security vetting procedures for personnel with access to sensitive information prompted him to propose the amendments, which would introduce changes to Article 14 of the Classified National Security Information Protection Act (國家機密保護法), Chen said yesterday. The proposal, which aims to enhance interagency vetting procedures and reduce the risk of classified information leaks, would establish a comprehensive security clearance system in Taiwan, he said. The amendment would require character and loyalty checks for civil servants and intelligence personnel prior to
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