Asian currencies fell this week, led by the South Korean won and India’s rupee, as concern about the pace of a global economic recovery and the risk of debt defaults deterred investment in emerging-market assets.
State-run Dubai World met with creditors to restructure US$26 billion of borrowings and Fitch Ratings downgraded its credit rating for Greece. US Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said on Monday the US economy faces “formidable headwinds” that will keep expansion to a “moderate” pace.
The won slid 1 percent this week to 1,164.05 per US dollar, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The Indian rupee weakened 0.5 percent to 46.53 and the Singapore dollar dropped 0.6 percent to S$1.3892.
Malaysia’s ringgit traded near a one-month low as the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI Index lost 0.8 percent this week. The ringgit weakened 0.5 percent to 3.3995 per US dollar in Kuala Lumpur, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. It reached 3.4125 on Dec. 9, the weakest level since Nov. 6.
The New Taiwan dollar weakened 0.3 percent to NT$32.278 against the greenback this week.
The Indonesian rupiah fell 0.3 percent to 9,443 and the Philippine peso dropped 0.3 percent to 46.13. The Thai baht was little changed at 33.10, while the yuan traded at 6.8277 from 6.8270 last Friday.
The US dollar advanced to a two-month high against the euro as a bigger-than-forecast increase in retail sales and consumer sentiment indicated the US economic recovery may be gaining momentum.
The US dollar appreciated 1.7 percent to US$1.4615 per euro this week, from US$1.4858 last Friday. It touched US$1.4586 on Friday, the strongest level since October.
The greenback decreased 1.6 percent to ¥89.10, from ¥90.56 last week. The euro dropped 3.2 percent to ¥130.24, from ¥134.54 last week.
Sterling fell for a fourth consecutive week, declining 1.3 percent to US$1.6259 on concern the UK government’s budget deficit will keep growing as the government spends more money to revive the economy.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique