■MINING
Xstrata drops Lonmin bid
Anglo-Swiss mining giant Xstrata PLC dropped its US$10 billion bid for British rival Lonmin PLC on Wednesday, saying the turmoil on the financial markets made a takeover of the world’s No. 3 platinum producer too risky. “The current lack of clarity and certainty regarding the future availability of credit introduces significant risks into the financing package available to Xstrata,” Xstrata chief executive Mick Davis said in a statement posted on its Web site. Xstrata, based in Zug, Switzerland, had planned to partly finance the takeover with bank loans.
■INVESTMENT
Google drop blamed on error
The last-minute pounding Wall Street gave Google’s shares was caused by “erroneous orders” that NASDAQ says it is canceling. Minutes before the closing bell on Tuesday, a flurry of trades sent Google stock plummeting 10 percent to close at US$341.43. NASDAQ said erroneous orders routed to NASDAQ from another market center were responsible for the high volume of trades. The exchange raised Google’s closing price to US$400.52 — a 5 percent gain for the day — and canceled all trades below that amount and above US$425.29 between 3:57pm and 4:02pm EDT.
■THEME PARKS
HK Disneyland clears loans
Hong Kong Disneyland said yesterday it has cleared its commercial loans of about HK$3.3 billion (US$425 million) thanks to help from The Walt Disney Co, which provided a cheap financial arrangement. The loan payment, which was due on Tuesday, removed a significant obstacle in the theme park’s expansion as it wiped out worries that Hong Kong Disneyland would have to refinance in an increasingly tight credit market and accept less favorable terms.
■INVESTMENT
Man arrested over rumor
A second Hong Kong man has been arrested for spreading Internet rumors that a city bank would be shut down, police said yesterday, amid a jittery investor environment that saw a recent bank run. The 18-year-old was arrested after he posted a message in an online forum last Thursday that an unnamed financial institution was in trouble, police said. It follows the arrest of a 34-year-old man after he posted an item encouraging people to take out their deposits from an unnamed bank.
■ECONOMY
China must help US: Slim
Mexican tycoon Carlos Slim, one of the world’s richest men, said on Tuesday that China should lead rescue efforts for the US financial crisis, and that worldwide stock markets needed better rules. “China is now the most important country to help responsibly in this crisis,” Slim told journalists at a meeting in Mexico City. “China has great liquidity, large resources, surpluses in its current accounts and a lot of capital flow,” he said.
■ECONOMY
Tankan index turns negative
Japanese business confidence turned negative for the first time in five years as executives fretted about escalating turmoil on global financial markets, a key central bank survey showed yesterday. The malaise in corporate boardrooms deepened for a fourth straight quarter amid growing fears of a recession in Asia’s largest economy. Confidence among big manufacturers tumbled to minus-three last month from plus-five the previous quarter, hitting the lowest level since June 2003, according to the Bank of Japan’s Tankan survey of more than 10,000 firms.
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