■ BANKING
UK to hold major RBS stake
The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) said yesterday that the British government would end up with a 57.9 percent stake in the bank after a share issue to raise funds to help it cope with the financial crisis. RBS said that ordinary shareholders had agreed to take up only 0.24 percent of the share issue, with the government then taking up the balance, as provided for in its recapitalization plan for the British banking system. Last week, shareholders approved plans to raise £20 billion (US$29.5 billion) in fresh capital as part of a state rescue deal for Britain’s banking sector. Under the plan, RBS was to raise £5 billion directly from the government in return for preference shares.
■ SEMICONDUCTORS
Q4 revenue to miss goals
STMicroelectronics NV, Europe’s largest semiconductor maker, said fourth-quarter revenue and gross margin will miss forecasts after a slowdown in demand from the wireless, automotive and computer peripherals industries. Sales will be US$2.2 billion to US$2.35 billion, down 13 percent to 18 percent from US$2.7 billion in the previous quarter, the company said in a statement yesterday. The company had predicted sales being unchanged or falling 8 percent. The gross margin will be about 38 percent, down from a forecast of 38.8 percent, both allowing moves of plus or minus 1 percentage point. STMicroelectronics will cut output further to adjust to lower demand and reduce sourcing from third-party contractors. Because of the increased idle capacity, the Geneva-based company’s gross margin will be lower than anticipated on Oct. 28.
■ PHARMACEUTICALS
Drug firms block generics
Drug companies are delaying or blocking the entry of cheaper generic medicines in Europe, pushing up bills for taxpayers and reducing the incentive for innovation, an EU report said yesterday. EU Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes said preliminary results of a probe showed competition in the pharmaceuticals industry did not work as well as it should. Practices such as multiple patent applications for the same drug, litigation and settlement deals delayed generics going on sale, the EU executive said. Based on a sample of medicines facing patent expiry in 17 EU states, the EU executive estimated that delays in getting those generics on the market had cost healthcare providers some 3 billion euros (US$3.9 billion) between 2000 and last year.
■ COMPUTERS
FSC plans more job cuts
Fujitsu Siemens Computers Holdings (FSC) plans to slash around 700 jobs in Germany — 12 percent of its workforce in the country, it said on Thursday. FSC is Europe’s biggest maker of personal computers and employs about 10,500 worldwide, most of whom are in Germany. It said the job cuts were not a result of its new ownership structure but rather a move to improve profitability and competitiveness. Management began talks with union representatives about the plans on Thursday, it said
■ AVIATION
Chinese-made plane tested
China tested its first home-made commercial airliner yesterday, with the pilots praising the handling of the Advanced Regional Jet for the 21st Century (ARJ21), the China News Service said. The one-hour maiden flight of the ARJ21 took place in Shanghai, the report said. The maiden flight, which did not rise above 900m in altitude, had been expected earlier this year, the report said. So far only six ARJ21 have been produced, it said.
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
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
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
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