■FINANCE
Morgan Stanley delays deal
Morgan Stanley plans to keep control of part of its brokerage operation in Japan, revising a merger plan with Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG), news reports said yesterday. The revised deal will allow Morgan Stanley to keep some operations, including stock dealing for corporate clients, the Nikkei Shimbun reported without revealing its sources. Due to the revision, the merger will be delayed by about two months to May, the daily said. A MUFG spokesman declined to confirm the change. The Japanese bank said yesterday its first-half net profit soared 53.2 percent from a year earlier to ¥140.95 billion (US$1.6 billion).
■UNITED STATES
Geithner sees recovery
Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said on Tuesday the global economy is moving toward a recovery but countries can’t rely on US consumers to serve as the engine of worldwide growth. In testimony prepared for the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Geithner said that significant cooperation among the G20 economies had helped countries “put out the financial fire” and restart economic growth. Countries with large trade surpluses such as China will have to foster policies to support domestic growth, while countries with large trade and budget deficits will need to boost savings, Geithner said.
■TELECOMS
Maxis returns to bourse
Maxis, Malaysia’s top mobile operator, is expected to debut at a premium today when it returns to the bourse in a US$3.3 billion initial public offering (IPO) billed as the biggest in Southeast Asian history. Maxis Berhad, controlled by reclusive Malaysian tycoon Ananda Krishnan and Saudi Telecom, is launching the on Bursa Malaysia two years after it was taken private and de-listed. Market observers are tipping a premium of 5 percent to 10 percent to the reference price of 5 ringgit (US$1.49) partly because of a “scarcity premium” caused by local institutions receiving smaller applications than they had applied for.
■AUTOMOBILES
Ford, Subaru among safest
Ford, Subaru and Volkswagen sit atop the US insurance industry’s annual list of the safest new vehicles — a closely watched assessment used by car companies to lure safety-conscious consumers to showrooms. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety awarded its “top safety pick” yesterday to 19 passenger cars and eight sport utility vehicles for next year’s models. The institute substantially reduced the number of awards compared with this year because of tougher requirements for roof strength. Toyota, BMW, Mazda and Mitsubishi were shut out in the annual IIHS review.
■GAMBLING
Trump ends casino war
Donald Trump ended his war with bondholders of the casino company that bears his name, settling for 10 percent of Trump Entertainment Resorts once it emerges from bankruptcy. The real estate mogul said he and his daughter Ivanka were abandoning their battle over control of the company, which filed for bankruptcy protection in February. It was the third such filing for the company or its corporate predecessors. The three Atlantic City, New Jersey, casinos — Trump Taj Mahal Casino Resort, Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino and Trump Marina Hotel Casino — will continue to use the Trump name, while Trump will be permitted to use it on gambling ventures in other states.
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