??FINANCE
Citigroup sells more stock
Citigroup Inc, under pressure to bolster capital depleted by mounting losses, sold another US$4.5 billion in stock, the company said on Wednesday. The move aims to help bolster its capital as it fights to stay above the worst US finance crisis in decades. The amount was 50 percent more than it had planned and represents about 3 percent of the bank?? shares outstanding as of March 31, Bloomberg financial news service reported. The bank has already raised more than US$37 billion during the past five months, more than any other financial services company. Last week, Citigroup announced plans to cut 9,000 jobs in the wake of a first-quarter net loss of US$5.11 billion. The cuts come atop the 4,200 job reductions announced in January.
??ELECTRONICS
Casio expects profits to soar
Casio Computer Co, the maker of G Shock watches, said profit may rise 89 percent this fiscal year as the devices business turns profitable and sales of digital cameras and electronic dictionaries rise. Net income is likely to climb to 瞼23 billion (US$221 million) in the 12 months started April 1, the company said in a statement to the Tokyo Stock Exchange yesterday. Operating profit may increase 25 percent to 瞼47 billion in the period, as sales gain 1.1 percent to 瞼630 billion, the Tokyo-based company said. Profit at the devices division may total 瞼500 million this fiscal year, compared with a 瞼3.26 billion loss a year earlier, the company said. Sales may drop 25 percent to 瞼72 billion.
??VENEZUELA
Chavez raising basic wage
President Hugo Chavez is raising Venezuela?? minimum wage by 30 percent as inflation continues to soar in the oil-producing nation. The socialist leader has signed a degree that will fix the monthly minimum wage at US$372 starting yesterday. Chavez said the move would give Venezuela the highest minimum wage in Latin America. All public employees??wages will also increase by 30 percent. If food stamps are taken into account, Chavez says the minimum wage will actually reach US$558.
??FAST FOOD
Starbucks posts profit fall
US coffeehouse giant Starbucks reported second-quarter profits of US$109 million, or US$0.15 a share, a drop of 28 percent from the US$151 million in the year-earlier period. Revenue rose 12 percent to US$2.53 billion from US$2.3 billion in the second quarter of last year. In a statement Starbucks chief executive Howard Schultz said the profit drop resulted from costs related to the company?? turnaround, calling this year a transitional year and predicting that growth would return in the long term. Starbucks said the weak economy had caused a mid-single-digit drop in same store sales compared to last year. But the rising costs of dairy products and changes in store organization were the main causes of the lower-than-expected revenues.
??AVIATION
BA mulling alliance
British Airways said on Wednesday it was examining closer cooperation with US carriers American Airlines and Continental Airlines but gave no additional information. ??ritish Airways is exploring opportunities for cooperation with American Airlines and Continental Airlines,??BA said in a very brief statement to the London Stock Exchange. ??urther details will be announced when appropriate.??The announcement followed recent media speculation that Continental was seeking a three-way alliance with American Airlines and British Airways.
NO HUMAN ERROR: After the incident, the Coast Guard Administration said it would obtain uncrewed aerial vehicles and vessels to boost its detection capacity Authorities would improve border control to prevent unlawful entry into Taiwan’s waters and safeguard national security, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday after a Chinese man reached the nation’s coast on an inflatable boat, saying he “defected to freedom.” The man was found on a rubber boat when he was about to set foot on Taiwan at the estuary of Houkeng River (後坑溪) near Taiping Borough (太平) in New Taipei City’s Linkou District (林口), authorities said. The Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) northern branch said it received a report at 6:30am yesterday morning from the New Taipei City Fire Department about a
IN BEIJING’S FAVOR: A China Coast Guard spokesperson said that the Chinese maritime police would continue to carry out law enforcement activities in waters it claims The Philippines withdrew its coast guard vessel from a South China Sea shoal that has recently been at the center of tensions with Beijing. BRP Teresa Magbanua “was compelled to return to port” from Sabina Shoal (Xianbin Shoal, 仙濱暗沙) due to bad weather, depleted supplies and the need to evacuate personnel requiring medical care, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesman Jay Tarriela said yesterday in a post on X. The Philippine vessel “will be in tiptop shape to resume her mission” after it has been resupplied and repaired, Philippine Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, who heads the nation’s maritime council, said
REGIONAL STABILITY: Taipei thanked the Biden administration for authorizing its 16th sale of military goods and services to uphold Taiwan’s defense and safety The US Department of State has approved the sale of US$228 million of military goods and services to Taiwan, the US Department of Defense said on Monday. The state department “made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale” to the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the US for “return, repair and reshipment of spare parts and related equipment,” the defense department’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency said in a news release. Taiwan had requested the purchase of items and services which include the “return, repair and reshipment of classified and unclassified spare parts for aircraft and related equipment; US Government
More than 500 people on Saturday marched in New York in support of Taiwan’s entry to the UN, significantly more people than previous years. The march, coinciding with the ongoing 79th session of the UN General Assembly, comes close on the heels of growing international discourse regarding the meaning of UN Resolution 2758. Resolution 2758, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1971, recognizes the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as the “only lawful representative of China.” It resulted in the Republic of China (ROC) losing its seat at the UN to the PRC. Taiwan has since been excluded from