■UNITED STATES
Obama promises jobs
President Barack Obama promised yesterday to deliver more than 600,000 jobs through his US$787 billion stimulus plan this summer, with federal agencies pumping billions into public works projects, schools and summer youth programs. Obama is ramping up his stimulus program this week even as his advisers are ramping down expectations about when the spending plan will stem a continuing rise in the nation’s unemployment. Many of the stimulus plans that Obama announced yesterday were in the works, including federal money states budgeted for 135,000 teachers, principals and school support staff. The administration had always viewed the summer as a peak for stimulus spending, as better weather permitted more public works construction and federal agencies had processed requests from states and others. But Obama now promises an accelerated pace of federal spending over the next few months to boost the economy and produce jobs.
■FINANCE
Lloyds sells new shares
Britain’s state-controlled Lloyds Banking Group yesterday reported an 87 percent take-up for heavily discounted new shares recently issued in a bid to raise £4 billion (US$6.3 billion). “Lloyds Banking Group plc announces that valid acceptances have been received ... representing approximately 87 percent,” LBG said in a short statement. LBG had launched the rights-issue last month to help to repay its bailout by the British government. The British state owns about 43 percent of LBG. LBG has shed about 3,000 jobs since its creation in January, when Lloyds TSB bought rival lender HBOS. The latter had faced collapse because it was struggling to raise funds owing to the credit crunch.
■RETAIL
Arcandor may go bankrupt
German Finance Minister Peer Steinbrueck said yesterday the retail group Arcandor, which owns the Kardstadt chain and a majority share of Thomas Cook, could go bust. “A bankruptcy is not totally excluded,” Steinbrueck told ARD television, adding: “Shareholders must assume their responsibilities” with respect to the group’s long-running problems. Arcandor, which owns 52 percent of the travel group Thomas Cook, has said it could file for insolvency unless it obtained 437 million euros (US$610 million) in credit from the government. The company wants to tap a government fund set up to help companies hit by the economic slump. The group is also negotiating a possible merger with German rival Metro, the country’s biggest retailer and the owner of the Kaufhof chain, though talks have run into obstacles.
■CURRENCIES
Gulf monetary union formed
Four members of the oil-rich Gulf Cooperation Council signed an accord in the Saudi capital on Sunday to create a monetary union, a council spokesman said. Foreign ministers from four of the six council countries — Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and Saudi Arabia — agreed to set up a monetary council in Riyadh this year as a precursor to the ultimate goal of establishing a common currency, the spokesman said. Oman said in 2007 that it would not join, while the United Arab Emirates, a key regional financial and commercial hub, pulled out last month after the council decided to base the future regional central bank in Riyadh. The monetary union date was set for next year, but analysts consider that unrealistic given the global slowdown. Reports suggest that 2013 is the new target.
WAITING GAME: The US has so far only offered a ‘best rate tariff,’ which officials assume is about 15 percent, the same as Japan, a person familiar with the matter said Taiwan and the US have completed “technical consultations” regarding tariffs and a finalized rate is expected to be released soon, Executive Yuan spokeswoman Michelle Lee (李慧芝) told a news conference yesterday, as a 90-day pause on US President Donald Trump’s “reciprocal” tariffs is set to expire today. The two countries have reached a “certain degree of consensus” on issues such as tariffs, nontariff trade barriers, trade facilitation, supply chain resilience and economic security, Lee said. They also discussed opportunities for cooperation, investment and procurement, she said. A joint statement is still being negotiated and would be released once the US government has made
NEW GEAR: On top of the new Tien Kung IV air defense missiles, the military is expected to place orders for a new combat vehicle next year for delivery in 2028 Mass production of Tien Kung IV (Sky Bow IV) missiles is expected to start next year, with plans to order 122 pods, the Ministry of National Defense’s (MND) latest list of regulated military material showed. The document said that the armed forces would obtain 46 pods of the air defense missiles next year and 76 pods the year after that. The Tien Kung IV is designed to intercept cruise missiles and ballistic missiles to an altitude of 70km, compared with the 60km maximum altitude achieved by the Missile Segment Enhancement variant of PAC-3 systems. A defense source said yesterday that the number of
‘CRUDE’: The potential countermeasure is in response to South Africa renaming Taiwan’s representative offices and the insistence that it move out of Pretoria Taiwan is considering banning exports of semiconductors to South Africa after the latter unilaterally downgraded and changed the names of Taiwan’s two representative offices, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said yesterday. On Monday last week, the South African Department of International Relations and Cooperation unilaterally released a statement saying that, as of April 1, the Taipei Liaison Offices in Pretoria and Cape Town had been renamed the “Taipei Commercial Office in Johannesburg” and the “Taipei Commercial Office in Cape Town.” Citing UN General Assembly Resolution 2758, it said that South Africa “recognizes the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as the sole
Taiwanese exports to the US are to be subject to a 20 percent tariff starting on Thursday next week, according to an executive order signed by US President Donald Trump yesterday. The 20 percent levy was the same as the tariffs imposed on Vietnam, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh by Trump. It was higher than the tariffs imposed on Japan, South Korea and the EU (15 percent), as well as those on the Philippines (19 percent). A Taiwan official with knowledge of the matter said it is a "phased" tariff rate, and negotiations would continue. "Once negotiations conclude, Taiwan will obtain a better
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