■ FINLAND
Inflation stays unchanged
Finnish inflation was unchanged at an annual 4.4 percent last month, the fastest pace in 17 years. The increase, in line with the median estimate of three economists in a Bloomberg survey, compares with 2.6 percent in the same month a year ago, Statistics Finland said in a statement on its Web site yesterday. Prices fell 0.1 percent in the month. Inflation has accelerated across Europe as fuel and food costs rise, prompting the European Central Bank to raise its benchmark interest rate by a quarter point to 4.25 percent last month. Finland’s harmonized index of consumer prices, which excludes borrowing costs and house prices, rose 4.3 percent last month, faster than the estimated 4.1 percent euro area inflation for the same month.
■ MILITARY
US firm makes acquisition
Lockheed Martin Corp said on Wednesday it has acquired a unit of a firm that develops nanotechnology-enabled devices such as memory, logic and sensors used in military and intelligence applications. Lockheed Martin also entered a license arrangement with privately held Nantero Inc for government applications of Nantero’s intellectual property portfolio. Lockheed Martin said benefits of nanotechnology for government customers could include stronger, lighter and less expensive materials and improved protection for military and first responders.
■ INSURANCE
Zurich reports drop in profit
Swiss insurer Zurich Financial Services AG on Wednesday reported a 2.5 percent drop in second-quarter profit as investment income fell even as premium income increased. Net income in the three months ended June 30 fell to US$1.25 billion from nearly US$1.29 billion in the same period last year, the company said in a statement. Shares closed down 1.3 percent at 283.25 Swiss francs (US$260.38) in Zurich. The earnings over the quarter were affected by a US$437 million net loss on investments and impairments. That compared with a US$198 million gain a year ago. Altogether, net income from investments declined 25 percent to US$1.8 billion, Zurich Financial said. But gross written premiums and policy fees rose 5.4 percent to US$12.32 billion.
■ BANKING
Australian bank signals cut
Australia’s central bank indicated yesterday that it would soon cut interest rates for the first time in more than six years amid signs of an economic slowdown. A series of interest rate hikes had cooled demand and households had cut back on spending, Reserve Bank of Australia deputy governor Ric Battellino told a parliamentary committee. A rate cut would be the first since December 2001 and follow 12 hikes, which took the base rate to a 12-year high of 7.25 percent as the central bank fought inflation. Official data showed inflation over the year to June at 4.5 percent.
■ INTERNET
eBay targets Gmarket stake
EBay Inc said on Wednesday it is in talks to buy a minority stake in the South Korean online marketplace operator Gmarket. The talks are with Interpark Corp and its chairman, Ki Hyung-lee, who own a combined 37 percent of Gmarket. A purchase would mark eBay’s latest move to capture the online auction market outside the US. EBay spokesman Jose Mallabo said that no firm agreement has been reached or signed, but that a voluntary preliminary filing was made with the Korea Fair Trade Commission seeking preliminary approval.
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
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
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
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