■ ECONOMY
Japanese tighten pockets
Soaring oil and commodity prices hit Japan’s economy with a one-two punch last month, thrusting up inflation and driving consumers to tighten their pocketbooks. Core inflation excluding volatile fresh food prices rose 1.5 percent last month from a year earlier, the quickest pace in more than a decade, the government said yesterday. Household spending last month slid 3.2 percent from the previous year to an average of ¥288,128 (US$2,692), the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said. In other data released yesterday, the government said the unemployment rate was flat at 4 percent.
■ INFLATION
Rise beats expectations
India’s annual rate of inflation has risen to 11.42 percent on the back of rising prices of food, fuel and manufactured goods, government data released yesterday showed. Inflation jumped to 11.42 for the week ending on June 14, against 11.05 percent for the previous week. The rise was marginally higher than analysts’ expectations, and keeps the rate at a more than 13-year high. The Reserve Bank of India on Tuesday hiked its short-term lending rate as well as the Cash Reserve Ratio, or the amount of cash banks must hold in reserve, to tame prices. Analysts said they expected further tightening by the central bank.
■ BANKS
BoA to axe 7,500 workers
Bank of America (BoA) said on Thursday it would cut about 7,500 jobs after it closes its acquisition of mortgage lender Countrywide Financial Corp. The job cuts amount to about 12.5 percent of the combined companies’ mortgage, home equity and insurance businesses, after the purchase is completed next week. The Charlotte, North Carolina-based bank said the cuts would take place over the next two years in locations across the country “in instances where the two companies have significant overlap.” Bank of America expects to close the deal on July 1, having received the go-ahead from Countrywide shareholders on Wednesday.
■ ENERGY
Gazprom to boost production
Russian gas giant Gazprom said yesterday it would boost production by 2.6 percent this year and expected a 62 percent rise in export revenues, on the back of record-high energy prices. “Last year we had record revenues of US$39.5 billion for export sales. This year, because of increased prices, we are expecting US$64 billion,” Gazprom chief executive Alexei Miller said at a shareholders’ meeting. “We are planning production of 563 billion cubic meters this year,” up from 548.6 billion last year, Miller said, amid criticism from some shareholders that the company has been slow to increase production.
■ TOURISM
Agents may boycott Emirates
Travel agents are being urged to launch a weeklong boycott of Emirates, the Dubai-based airline, in a row over commissions, an industry group said yesterday. The Travel Industry Council of Hong Kong, which regulates agents, said the ban should start on Tuesday. Agents are upset after Emirates, which flies to Hong Kong from Dubai and Bangkok, decided to cut the commission paid to agents from 7 percent to 5 percent starting on Tuesday. “We don’t know what the reason is for cutting commissions, and Emirates only said this was decided by the head office, but a lot of travel agents are very unhappy,” council executive director Joseph Tung said. The council said a boycott would act as a deterrent to other carriers from cutting commission fees.
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