■INSURANCE
Aviva turns profit
Aviva made a net profit of £747 million (US$1.3 billion) in the first half of the year after a loss a year earlier, the British insurance giant said yesterday. “In a challenging economic environment Aviva has returned to profit,” Aviva chief executive Andrew Moss said in the company’s results statement. “Life and pensions margins have improved, the general insurance business has beaten our targets and our regulatory capital position has strengthened significantly.”
■CONSUMER PRODUCTS
Unilever profit falls
Unilever NV PLC, the maker of Dove soap, Lipton tea and Ben & Jerry’s ice cream, said yesterday profit fell 17 percent in the second quarter as its profit margins eroded amid the economic downturn. Net profit at the consumer products giant was 758 million euros (US$1.09 billion) in the quarter, down from 909 million euros in the same period a year earlier, while sales rose 1 percent to 10.5 billion euros. “While conditions remain difficult in many markets, I am encouraged by the return to volume growth across all regions,” chief executive Paul Polman said in a statement.
■TELECOMS
German firm’s profits rise
German telecommunications group Deutsche Telekom posted a solid jump in its second quarter net profit yesterday as it integrated a recent Greek acquisition and confirmed its full-year targets. Deutsche Telekom recorded a 32 percent hike in profit to 521 million euros (US$750 million) on sales that increased by 7.4 percent to 16.24 billion euros. Core earnings that the telecoms operator uses in its forecast rose by 8.4 percent from the same period a year earlier to 5.26 billion euros, slightly better than expected, a statement said.
■MEDIA
News Corp loses US$203m
News Corp said on Wednesday it lost US$203 million in the latest quarter due to a huge writedown at MySpace. Despite the loss, the sprawling New York-based media company that owns the Wall Street Journal, the Fox broadcast network, Sky Italia and newspapers in Britain and Australia said the economy was slowly turning around and predicted revenue growth in the current fiscal year. “Advertising markets, while weak and particularly hurt by the slump in cars and finance, have shown some good signs of life,” chairman and chief executive Rupert Murdoch said on a conference call.
■AUSTRALIA
Unemployment holds steady
The unemployment rate held steady at 5.8 percent last month, official figures showed yesterday, beating analyst forecasts as the jobs market showed unexpected resilience. Australian Bureau of Statistics data showed the loss of 16,000 full-time positions was offset by 48,200 new part-time positions, defying economists’ predictions of a rise to 6 percent. “This a certainly a major surprise,” Craig James, chief economist with stockbroker Commsec, told Sky News, adding employers seemed to be hiring again as hopes rise that the worst of the financial crisis is over.
■COMPUTERS
Cisco earnings drop 46%
Cisco Systems Inc said earnings fell 46 percent in its latest quarter and the company said the quarter may have been the bottom of the recession-related downturn. CEO John Chambers said he expects a slight increase in revenue in the current quarter compared with the just-ended one.
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