■ AUTOMOBILES
Ford to recall vehicles
Ford Motor Co said on Saturday it was recalling about 225,000 vehicles that were already repaired as part of an earlier recall to address concerns about a cruise control deactivation switch. Ford said the affected vehicles represent a small portion of the about 10 million vehicles that have been recalled since 1999 related to the cruise control switch problem. Ford spokesman Wesley Sherwood said the automaker would notify the US National Highway Traffic Safety Admini-stration this week about the latest recall, which was reported on Saturday by the Detroit News.
■ BANKING
French bank issues letter
Societe Generale SA, the French bank where a trader's unauthorized bets led to a record 4.9 billion euros (US$7.2 billion) loss, published an open letter to clients saying the future of the bank isn't threatened. "This accident, however serious it may be, doesn't endanger the good health of the company," Societe Generale said in a full-page advertisement published in Le Parisien and Le Monde newspapers on Saturday. Societe Generale said on Jan. 24 that errant trades on European stock index futures by 31-year-old Jerome Kerviel had led to a 4.9 billion euro loss, depleting the bank's capital and spurring talk of a takeover.
■ FINANCE
China to curb credit growth
China will curb credit growth further this year and make its currency more flexible as it tries to cool economic growth and stave off inflation, former Central Bank deputy governor Wu Xiaoling (吳曉靈) said. "The US rate cuts have limited the room for the central bank to use interest rate as a leverage tool to adjust domestic demand," Wu said on Saturday at an economic conference in Beijing. The central bank has been raising banks' reserve requirements and selling sterilization bills in the open market since last year, which was "effective" in "absorbing the excess part" of money in the system, Wu said.
■ COMPUTERS
Hackers target Mac
Apple users should be prepared for a spike in attacks from hackers looking to pick their pockets. Last year saw the first release of malicious programs written by criminals specifically targeting the Apple platform in an attempt to steal money through ploys like phishing attacks, the IT software firm Sophos reported. A growing number of these attempts can be expected this year as well. "Users of Apple computers are no longer secure from cyber criminality any more," said Matthias Gaertner of the German Federal Agency for Security in Information Technology in Bonn.
■ OIL
OPEC allays fears
Libya's oil chief Shukri Ghanem downplayed fears on Saturday that oil cartel OPEC could decide to lower production at its March 5 meeting in Vienna. "I don't think much will happen [at the meeting]. I think prices will stay between US$85 and US$90," Ghanem said after an extraordinary OPEC meeting in Vienna. He said he was happy with a price range between US$82 and US$90 per barrel. Light sweet crude for delivery in March closed on Friday in New York at US$88.96 per barrel. Industry analysts have said OPEC could lower production next month to prevent a drop in oil prices in the event of a recession in the US.
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
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
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source