■ MANUFACTURING
Euro's rise seen as a threat
The chief executive of Airbus parent company EADS, Louis Gallois, warned in an interview published yesterday that the high value of the euro threatened European manufacturing. The high value of the euro against the dollar "is in the process of suffocating a good portion of European industry by eating away at its export markets," he told the daily Le Figaro. "If this continues export manufacturers will flee Europe," he said. The euro rose to US$1.5845 on Wednesday in New York, approaching its all-time high of US$1.5905 on March 17.
■ SOUTH KOREA
No interest in US Treasuries
South Korea's pension fund will no longer buy low-yield US Treasuries because it wants to diversify its portfolio and boost returns, an official said yesterday. The world's fifth-largest pension fund would consider buying European government debt or other higher-yielding assets, a manager at the National Pension Service's overseas investment team said. "The portion of our investment in US Treasuries is too high. We will diversify our portfolio," he said on condition of anonymity. The state-run fund, which manages about 220 trillion won (US$220.6 billion) in assets, holds US$14 billion of US government debt. The yield on US Treasuries has fallen after several rate cuts by the US Federal Reserve.
■ MARKETS
LSE forecasts good year
London Stock Exchange Group Plc (LSE) said yesterday it was confident of a good outcome for the financial year ending March 31. The LSE, which is set to announce its preliminary results on May 22, said it had delivered a strong overall trading performance for the first 11 months. It also said it had bought back nearly 2.9 million shares at a total cost of ?45 million (US$89.87 million) since mid-January. Trading at Borsa Italiana, which the LSE acquired in October, increased 23 percent to 288,000 trades per day in the same period, with the average daily value up 30 percent at 6.2 billion euros (US$9.79 billion).
■ BANKING
Lending reduced in UK
Britain's smaller mortgage banks and building societies are restricting lending and withdrawing products at an unprecedented rate as the credit crunch extends its grip, according to a study released on Wednesday. Moneyfacts.co.uk, an independent personal finance information provider, said smaller building societies, which use deposits to fund lending, are being hit by overwhelming demand as large banks, the first casualties of the current market turbulence, increase rates and become more reluctant to compete. In the last month alone more than 2,000 residential and buy-to-let mortgage products have been withdrawn, with the number of products on offer dropping to 5,700 from 7,726, Moneyfacts said.
■ OIL
Exxon, Malaysia ink deal
US oil giant ExxonMobil Corp said on Wednesday it had signed a new, 25-year production-sharing contract with the Malaysian national oil company Petronas. The financial terms of deal were not disclosed. The contract includes commitments to implement enhanced oil recovery activities and for investments to continue oil development in Malaysia, Exxon said. It's Malaysian subsidiary operates 43 energy platforms in 17 fields and is one of the country's major suppliers of crude oil and natural gas.
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