■UNITED KINGDOM
UK hit by record decline
The UK’s recession-battered economy shrank at its fastest pace in more than 50 years in the first quarter of this year, revised official data showed yesterday, amid the worst global slowdown in decades. GDP contracted 2.4 percent in the first three months of the year from the final quarter of last year, the Office for National Statistics said. On a year-on-year basis, Britain’s economy declined by 4.9 percent in the first quarter, the largest contraction since records began in 1948.
■EUROZONE
Inflation turns negative
Inflation in the 16 countries using the euro turned negative last month for the first time on record, dipping 0.1 percent over 12 months, an estimate from the Eurostat data agency showed yesterday. The Eurostat figure put eurozone inflation at the lowest point on records going back to 1996 and was down from the zero percent that the agency booked in May. The figure hit a record high point of 4 percent last year.
■FINANCE
SEC looks to freeze assets
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is seeking to permanently freeze the assets of a Taiwanese immigrant financier accused of bilking investors until his fraud trial is over. Judge Philip Gutierrez said on Monday that he would rule next week on the request concerning the assets of Danny Pang (彭日成), who is accused of bilking investors in his Private Equity Management Group companies. Gutierrez temporarily froze Pang’s assets in April, when he also ordered the California financier to repatriate any assets sent overseas and turn over his passports.
■FINANCE
China mulls new company
China is weighing a plan to set up a new company to manage some of the country’s nearly 18 trillion yuan (US$2.6 billion) in state assets, a report said yesterday. The state-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission has been working to establish an asset management company since 2005, the state-run China Daily reported, citing director Li Rongrong (李榮融). Li also warned many state-owned enterprises were not qualified to make overseas acquisitions and would have to improve their corporate governance. The commission currently oversees 138 state companies.
■AUTOMOBILES
Qatarmakes Porsche offer
Qatar has offered to invest in debt-laden German sports car maker Porsche and to buy stock options it holds in Volkswagen, a Porsche spokesman said. “We have received an offer from Qatar for the acquisition of a participation and a purchase of options on Volkswagen shares,” he said late on Monday. The offer would serve as a basis for further talks, but must be examined by the Porsche and Piech families, who own all of the voting rights in Porsche, he added.
■INTERNET
Small firm buys Pirate Bay
A small Swedish software firm announced yesterday that it had purchased Pirate Bay, the popular file-sharing Web site, for 60 million kronor (US$7.8 million). Global Gaming Factory X said the deal would include rights to use the Pirate Bay domain name and accompanying Web sites. The acquisition is expected to be completed in August, the firm said. Pirate Bay is one of the world’s largest file-sharing venues, with more than 20 million users worldwide. In April, four men connected with the site were sentenced to one-year prison sentences for violations of copyright law.
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
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft
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