■MALAYSIA
Economy expands 4.5%
The economy grew 4.5 percent in the three months to December, rebounding after shrinking 1.2 percent in the previous quarter, the central bank said yesterday. Bank Negara said that stronger domestic and external demand, as well as the implementation of fiscal stimulus measures, propelled the economic recovery. “The Malaysian economy has recovered from the global crisis and turned around to record a positive growth in the fourth quarter,” it said in a statement.
■JAPAN
Exports post 30-year rise
Japanese exports last month grew at the fastest pace in 30 years, supporting recovery as the world’s second-largest economy battles deflation and weak domestic demand. Posting a surprise trade surplus, Japan said yesterday that exports soared at their fastest pace since February 1980 at 40.9 percent to ¥4.9 trillion (US$54.3 billion), backed by a rebound in demand from the rest of Asia as well as from developed countries. Yesterday’s data showing a surplus of ¥85.2 billion beat market expectations of a deficit of ¥145 billion.
■GERMANY
Economy flat in last quarter
Business activity stagnated in the fourth quarter of last year, underscoring concerns about the recovery of Europe’s biggest economy, final official statistics showed yesterday. “The slight upward trend observed for the economy in the second and third quarter of 2009 did not continue,” the Destatis office said in a statement that confirmed a preliminary figure given on Feb. 12. The zero result in the final three months of the year followed growth of 0.7 percent in the third quarter and 0.4 percent in the second. The economy contracted 5 percent last year.
■GAMING
Casino to open on April 27
Las Vegas Sands plans to open its US$5.5 billion Singapore casino and resort on April 27 after months of delays, the company said yesterday. The Marina Bay Sands expects to open its casino, 963 hotel rooms and parts of a shopping mall and convention center, the company said in a statement. A park connecting the top of three hotel towers, an events plaza and the rest of the shopping mall should open on June 23, while a theater opens in October and a museum in December, the company said.
■INTERNET
EU probes competition
Google said on Tuesday that the European Commission was looking into complaints filed by three companies that contend the US Internet giant was not playing fair. “Though each case raises slightly different issues, the question they ultimately pose is whether Google is doing anything to choke off competition or hurt our users and partners,” senior competition counsel Julia Holtz said in a blog post late on Tuesday. “This is not the case.” The complaints were made by British price comparison Web site Foundem, French legal search engine ejustice.fr and Microsoft’s Ciao! from Bing.
■FINANCE
Wall Street bonuses up 17%
Bonuses paid to Wall Street securities industry employees in New York rose 17 percent to US$20.3 billion last year, state officials said on Tuesday. New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli said total compensation at the largest securities firms grew even faster and industry profits could hit a record amount after unprecedented losses in 2008. Last year’s level remained below the record bonus pool of US$34.3 billion in 2006.
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
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
BULLY TACTICS: Beijing has continued its incursions into Taiwan’s airspace even as Xi Jinping talked about Taiwan being part of the Chinese family and nation China should stop its coercion of Taiwan and respect mainstream public opinion in Taiwan about sovereignty if its expression of goodwill is genuine, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said yesterday. Ministry spokesman Jeff Liu (劉永健) made the comment in response to media queries about a meeting between former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) the previous day. Ma voiced support for the so-called “1992 consensus,” while Xi said that although the two sides of the Taiwan Strait have “different systems,” this does not change the fact that they are “part of the same country,” and that “external
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