■ AVIATIO
Air France expects loss
Air France-KLM, Europe’s biggest airline, said on Thursday it expected a 200 million euro (US$270 million) operating loss for its financial year, which runs to the end of the month. It would be the first time the group has posted a loss since its creation by a merger of Air France and Dutch group KLM in 2003. “The evolution of the net result will depend on the valuation of hedging instruments based on market values at March 31, 2009,” the airline said in a statement. “Financial year 2009-10 will begin in a context of unprecedented difficulty, with little visibility on how the economy will evolve and on the volatility of factors such as currencies and the oil price,” chief executive Pierre-Henri Gourgeon said in the statement.
■ AUTOMOBILES
Geely buys Australian maker
Geely Automobile (吉利汽車), one of China’s largest independent carmakers, said it signed a deal yesterday in Australia to acquire auto parts manufacturer Drivetran Systems. Geely said in the statement that the deal would help expand its product line and improve its capability to develop and produce gearboxes — a key technology that Chinese automakers need to develop to be globally competitive. The company did not provide any financial details of the deal, only saying that it had the support of both the Australian and Chinese governments.
■ STOCKS
Barclays may pass test
Shares in Barclays PLC rose yesterday following a report that regulators believe the bank may not need to sign up for government insurance against losses on bad assets. The Financial Times, quoting unidentified sources, said the Financial Services Authority was close to completing stress tests on Barclays books. The newspaper said the regulator has indicated that Barclays did not need a further injection of capital. The deadline for signing up to the insurance program is next Tuesday.
■ UNITED KINGDOM
Economy slows sharply
Britain’s economy slowed even more sharply than expected in the last three months of last year as construction output plunged, official data showed on yesterday. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the economy shrank by 1.6 percent in the fourth quarter, the sharpest decline since 1980. Analysts had expected an unchanged reading of minus 1.5 percent. The annual rate of decline was revised down to 2 percent, the sharpest fall since 1991. The ONS said a huge downward revision to construction output was the main reason for the revision. Construction output fell by 4.9 percent in the quarter, the biggest quarterly fall since Q4 1980.
■ ENGINEERING
Siemens units’ profit rises
Siemens AG, Europe’s largest engineering company, said profit from at its main industry, energy and healthcare units rose at least 10 percent in the last three months. Siemens is sticking to its earnings forecast for the year after the energy business doubled its profit margin in the first quarter, chief financial officer Joe Kaeser said on Thursday at the company’s Munich headquarters. The company is cutting purchasing and personnel costs and will “significantly” increase the number of employees working shortened hours from about 7,000 now, Kaeser said. The company expects to take in orders at a faster pace than sales for the quarter and has seen some order delays but no cancelations, he said.
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
BULLY TACTICS: Beijing has continued its incursions into Taiwan’s airspace even as Xi Jinping talked about Taiwan being part of the Chinese family and nation China should stop its coercion of Taiwan and respect mainstream public opinion in Taiwan about sovereignty if its expression of goodwill is genuine, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said yesterday. Ministry spokesman Jeff Liu (劉永健) made the comment in response to media queries about a meeting between former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) the previous day. Ma voiced support for the so-called “1992 consensus,” while Xi said that although the two sides of the Taiwan Strait have “different systems,” this does not change the fact that they are “part of the same country,” and that “external
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