■ ENERGY
Weather fuels price rise
Oil prices rose to near US$99 a barrel yesterday on signs of colder weather in the US and Europe and continued weakness in the US dollar. "The onset of cold US weather is going to boost fuel demand," said Victor Shum, an energy analyst with Purvin & Gertz in Singapore. Light, sweet crude for January delivery added US$0.58 to US$98.76 a barrel in Asian electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange, midmorning yesterday in Singapore. On Friday, the contract rose US$0.89 to settle at US$98.18 a barrel. Shum said data suggesting that OPEC is increasing production more quickly than expected is likely to keep a temporary cap on oil prices.
■ GERMANY
Euro's rise could hurt
The euro's rise against the dollar could force Berlin to lower its growth forecast for the eurozone's biggest economy, Deputy Economy Minister Walther Otremba said in an interview with the Handelsblatt business daily yesterday. "If the euro's exchange rate remains high for a while, it will be impossible to prevent negative effects on exports," he said. "The government would then also have to reexamine its growth forecasts," possibly as early as January. Berlin officially expects the economy to expand by 2.4 percent this year and by 2 percent next year, a marked slowdown from the relatively brisk pace of 2.6 percent last year.
■ BANKING
Natixis Q3 profit up 16%
France's Natixis said on Sunday that its third quarter net profit increased by 16 percent to 437 million euros (US$647 million) despite a 407 million euro loss on the fallout from the US subprime credit crisis. Third-quarter net banking profit fell to 1.36 billion euros from 1.64 billion euros on a pro-forma basis last year, the bank said in a statement. Net profit for the first nine months of the year rose 15 percent to 2 billion euros, while net banking profit was up just 2 percent at 5.57 billion euros, it said. "The financial crisis in the summer generated a negative impact of 407 million euros." Natixis' earnings statement comes days after its main shareholders announced they would inject 1 billion euros into the company's bond insurance unit.
■ TRADE
Commonwealth slams EU
The Commonwealth lashed out at the EU on Sunday for scrapping a trade deal with sugar-producing African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries. The EU voted in September to axe the "Sugar Protocol," under which 18 ACP countries received privileged duty-free access at subsidized prices to the EU market. The Commonwealth said it considered" the EC's unilateral denunciation of the Sugar Protocol as very regrettable." Europe initially slashed its sugar subsidies by 36 percent, in response to a WTO ruling that they were illegal, but then scrapped them completely. Europe has pledged millions of euros to help the ACP countries adapt to the changes.
■ ENVIRONMENT
British firms going green
Britain's largest companies are pledging to offer greener products and invest in research and technology as part of a wider push to reduce carbon emissions. In an unprecedented joint effort, 18 top firms were to publish a report yesterday in which they promise to develop new products and services that would allow customers to cut their carbon emissions. They said they will develop a standard for all businesses to report carbon emission levels.
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
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
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