■BANKING
French bank’s profits rise
Societe Generale SA, France’s second-largest bank, said yesterday that net profit more than doubled in the third quarter after better market conditions helped earnings at its investment banking unit. SocGen said in a statement that it made a net profit of 426 million euros (US$627 million) in the July to September period, compared with 183 million euros a year earlier. The results were slightly lower than the consensus forecast. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters had predicted a net profit of 457 million euros.
■AUTOMOBILES
Nissan’s profit plummets
Nissan Motor said yesterday its first-half net profit plunged 92.9 percent from a year earlier due to weak sales, but it narrowed its full-year loss forecast. Japan’s No. 3 automaker, in which France’s Renault has a 44 percent stake, said it performed better than expected thanks to brisk growth in China and government incentives for people to buy new cars during the recession. Nissan logged a net profit of ¥9 billion (US$100 million) for the six months to September, against a profit of ¥126.3 billion in the same period a year earlier.
■APPAREL
Adidas profits drop 30%
German sportwear and equipment maker Adidas said yesterday that its net profit fell by 30 percent to 213 million euros in the third quarter of this year. The result was in line with forecasts and demonstrated the tough conditions faced by retailers, with Adidas adding that it expected a decline in income for the year as a whole. Sales for the three-month period slipped by 6 percent to 2.89 billion euros, a statement said, though when corrected for foreign exchange effects the figure showed an increase of 7 percent.
■RETAIL
M&S half-year profits rise
British retailer Marks and Spencer (M&S) said yesterday that net profits rose by half a percent to £224.3 million (US$369 million) during the first six months of its financial year. The company said its profit after tax figure for the six months to the end of September compared with a net gain of £223.2 million a year earlier. Pre-tax profits dipped slightly to £306.7 million in the first half while group revenue rose 2.8 percent to £4.3 billion.
■ICELAND
Keep controls, IMF says
The IMF has recommended Reykjavik maintain currency controls for the time being in order to ensure a stable currency, a report released on Tuesday said. The Icelandic central bank published the 98-page report containing the IMF recommendations and an assessment of Iceland’s economy. A year ago the global financial crisis sparked the collapse of three of the nation’s major banks and a rapid depreciation of the krona. It was later granted a US$2.1 billion emergency loan by the IMF.
■ELECTRONICS
Peek offers Twitter gadget
A US maker of mobile devices is offering a gadget solely dedicated to sending and receiving Twitter messages. The “TwitterPeek,” made by New York-based Peek, costs US$100 with six months of service or US$200 for a lifetime service plan. Peek called the TwitterPeek “the world’s first dedicated Twitter mobile device.” The device resembles a BlackBerry smartphone with a full-color screen for viewing messages and a keyboard for typing them.
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