■ AUTOMOBILES
Ford to stick to plan
Ford Motor Co's recent stock slide is a reflection of US economic uncertainty and would not change the company's restructuring plan, its chief executive said on Tuesday night. Alan Mulally told reporters that Ford has financing in place to weather an economic downturn and its restructuring plan is flexible enough to adjust production to a declining market. "Clearly, it makes it tougher," Mulally said. "We took the actions starting a year-and-a-half ago to deal with this." Ford's stock slid to US$6 per share last week, a 22-year low.
■ TOYS
China tightens export rules
More toys made in China now need export licenses as the world's biggest manufacturer of the children's products moves to boost quality, an official said yesterday following safety scares last year. Seven new product types need the licenses, which will have to be renewed every three rather than the previous five years, said Li Qingxiang, the deputy director general of the Guangdong Entry-Exit Inspection and Quarantine Bureau. "All the new toys will have to be inspected for safety and to make sure they reach the required standard before they can be produced and exported," he said.
■ MARKETS
Non-voting shares mulled
The Tokyo Stock Exchange said yesterday it planned to allow shares with little or no voting rights to be listed, enabling the founders of new firms to raise funds without losing a grip on management. The scheme could start as early as April but a formal decision has not yet been made, an exchange official said. The move would be part of the exchange's efforts to facilitate fundraising in various forms, the official said on condition of anonymity. "Founders of unlisted companies tend to avoid going public because their stakes would decline. We plan to enable them to raise money while retaining their controlling stakes," she said.
■ COMPUTERS
Lenovo in France launch
Chinese computer maker Lenovo (聯想) said on Tuesday it would launch a range of products in France aimed at individuals as part of its global strategy of expanding its market appeal. Lenovo, which in 2005 acquired the personal computer business of IBM, plans to raise its share of the worldwide consumer market. Its "Idea" range of portable and desktop personal computers will be on sale by the middle of this month at four major retail chains, Lenovo France chairman Jean-Michel Donner said. The firm, which is focusing on "medium to high-end range models with innovative designs ... aims to launch all these products across Europe in 2008," Donner said.
■ BANKING
Cayne to give up control
Bear Stearns CEO James "Jimmy" Cayne said on Tuesday he would give up day-to-day control of the fifth-largest US investment bank amid unprecedented losses from the subprime mortgage crisis. Cayne, 73, will serve as non-executive chairman, an internal memo said. He will be succeeded as CEO by president Alan Schwartz. The management shake-up had been expected for months and is just the latest to hit the executive suites of the biggest investment houses in the US. The subprime crisis has already claimed Merrill Lynch CEO Stan O'Neal and Citigroup CEO Chuck Prince.
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
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
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
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