■INDUSTRY
Record output cut in EU
Factories and refiners in the 16 countries using the euro cut their output at the fastest rate on record in April in the face of depressed demand, official EU figures showed yesterday. The Eurostat data agency said eurozone industrial production fell 1.9 percent in April over one month, bringing the drop over 12 months to a record 21.6 percent, the sharpest annual contraction on record. In March, production had fallen 1.4 percent over one month and 19.3 percent over 12 months.
■ECONOMY
Asia can’t rely on US: ADB
Asia can’t rely on exports to the US for long-term economic growth because US consumers will buy less as they increase savings and pay down debt, Asian Development Bank (ADB) president Haruhiko Kuroda said on Friday. “I’m optimistic on Asia’s short-term outlook but pessimistic on the long-term,” Kuroda said in a speech in Tokyo. “The US savings rate could rise to as high as 10 percent and suppress consumption. It’s becoming impossible for Asia to rely on the US consumer.”
■LABOR
British postal strike planned
A British union says thousands of postal workers will strike next week in a dispute over jobs and services. The Communication Workers Union says up to 10,000 mail sorters, letter carriers and other London employees will walk out on Friday for 24 hours. The union accused the Royal Mail of making “arbitrary cuts” and called for negotiations. British public sector unions have increasingly called strikes as employers cut jobs and benefits amid the recession.
■COMPUTER
Dell planning acquisition
US computer giant Dell is planning to acquire a “significant-sized company” in the next few months, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday. The newspaper, citing people who have recently spoken with its chief financial officer, Brian Gladden, said the Round Rock, Texas-based company wanted to expand its data-storage and tech-services businesses. The Journal said Dell, which has more than US$9 billion in cash reserves, sold US$1 billion in bonds on Wednesday. A Dell spokesman said the debt offering was “for general corporate purposes, and among the possibilities — and certainly no commitment has been made — are acquisitions.”
■BANKING
World banks must act: China
The US government and global financial authorities need to remove toxic assets from their banking systems to restore world economic stability, a top Chinese banking regulator said yesterday. Actions taken by governments worldwide to stabilize the financial sector “have gradually eased the panic,” said Liu Mingkang (劉明康), chairman of the China Banking Regulatory Commission. “But from the flip side of the coin ... I should say it’s not enough and all these are not ... working,” given the massive losses incurred by toxic assets still lingering in banking systems around the world, he said.
■INTERNET
AOL buys two Web startups
Internet pioneer AOL, which Time Warner plans to spin off into an independent company later this year, announced on Thursday that it had bought two small Web startups focused on local content. AOL, in a statement, said it had purchased Patch Media Corp, a local news and information platform for local communities, and Going Inc, a platform for sharing information about events in major cities.
Beijing’s continued provocations in the Taiwan Strait reveal its intention to unilaterally change the “status quo” in the area, the US Department of State said on Saturday, calling for a peaceful resolution to cross-strait issues. The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) reported that four China Coast Guard patrol vessels entered restricted and prohibited waters near Kinmen County on Friday and again on Saturday. A State Department spokesperson said that Washington was aware of the incidents, and urged all parties to exercise restraint and refrain from unilaterally changing the “status quo.” “Maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait is in line with our [the
EXTENDED RANGE: Hsiung Sheng missiles, 100 of which might be deployed by the end of the year, could reach Chinese command posts and airport runways, a source said A NT$16.9 billion (US$534.93 million) project to upgrade the military’s missile defense systems would be completed this year, allowing the deployment of at least 100 long-range Hsiung Sheng missiles and providing more deterrence against China, military sources said on Saturday. Hsiung Sheng missiles are an extended-range version of the Hsiung Feng IIE (HF-2E) surface-to-surface cruise missile, and are believed to have a range of up to 1,200km, which would allow them to hit targets well inside China. They went into mass production in 2022, the sources said. The project is part of a special budget for the Ministry of National Defense aimed at
READY TO WORK: Taiwan is eager to cooperate and is hopeful that like-minded states will continue to advocate for its inclusion in regional organizations, Lai said Maintaining the “status quo” in the Taiwan Strait, and peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region must be a top priority, president-elect William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday after meeting with a delegation of US academics. Leaders of the G7, US President Joe Biden and other international heads of state have voiced concerns about the situation in the Strait, as stability in the region is necessary for a safe, peaceful and prosperous world, Lai said. The vice president, who is to be inaugurated in May, welcomed the delegation and thanked them for their support for Taiwan and issues concerning the Strait. The international community
COOPERATION: Two crewmembers from a Chinese fishing boat that sank off Kinmen were rescued, two were found dead and another two were still missing at press time The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) was yesterday working with Chinese rescuers to find two missing crewmembers from a Chinese fishing boat that sank southwest of Kinmen County yesterday, killing two crew. The joint operation managed to rescue two of the boat’s six crewmembers, but two were already dead when they were pulled from the water, the agency said in a statement. Rescuers are still searching for two others from the Min Long Yu 61222, a boat registered in China’s Fujian Province that capsized and sank 1.03 nautical miles (1.9km) southwest of Dongding Island (東碇), it added. CGA Director-General Chou Mei-wu (周美伍) told a