■CHINA
Wal-Mart adjusts plans
Wal-Mart, the world’s largest retailer, yesterday said it has revised a planned overhaul of its China-based management after intervention by government-run trade unions. On April 10, US-based Wal-Mart said it needed to slash mid-level executives in an effort to adapt to “the changeable market situation.” However, the US retail giant seems to have softened its position after negotiating with employees, trade unions and local governments following a wave of staff complaints in domestic media reports.
■INTERNET
Amazon sales jump 18%
Amazon.com posted an 18 percent boost in sales and a 24 percent rise in profits as the online retail giant shrugged off the effects of the economic downturn. The Seattle-based retailer said that it earned US$177 million in the first quarter, compared to US$143 million a year ago. Sales were up to US$4.89 billion compared with US$4.13 billion a year ago. The company said the strongest boost to its earnings came from sales of its new electronic book reader, the Kindle.
■BANKING
AmEx net profit down 56%
US finance firm American Express said on Thursday it would make further cost-cutting moves following a sharp drop in quarterly earnings. “We continue to be very cautious about the economic outlook and plan to initiate additional reengineering efforts in the second quarter to help further reduce our operating costs,” said Kenneth Chenault, chairman and chief executive. Amex said net profit in the first quarter fell 56 percent from a year ago to US$443, or US$0.31 per share, amid rising write-offs of credit card debt.
■BANKING
Obama calls for fairness
US President Barack Obama urged US credit card company executives on Thursday to stop unfair rate increases and be more transparent and accountable, tapping into popular outrage over abusive lending. Obama said after a White House meeting with 13 credit card executives that he wanted new legislation being considered by the US Congress to protect consumers against unfair rate increases and ban “abusive fees and penalties.”
■JAPAN
Nomura posts record loss
Japan’s largest brokerage house, Nomura Holdings Inc, incurred a record net loss for the last fiscal year that ended on March 31, the firm said yesterday. The record loss amounted to ¥709.44 billion (US$7.24 billion) after the firm was hit hard by the global financial turmoil and the burden of taking over part of the Lehman Brothers in September last year. Nomura also posted a net loss of ¥67.85 billion in fiscal 2007.
■CHINA
Japan cool on certification
Japan voiced concern on Friday about a Chinese plan to order certification of high-tech information security products, which could have wide-ranging effects on trade and on foreign manufacturers in China. China has said it will unveil on May 1 the rules for certifying the products, which include smart card chip operating systems, secure routers, secure database systems, anti-spam products and firewall products. “If a compulsory certification system of information-security products, which would be unprecedented internationally, is introduced, then this may have a negative impact on smooth trade ties between Japan and China,” Japan’s chief cabinet Secretary Takeo Kawamura 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