■JAPAN
Q4 growth revised down
Economic growth in the fourth quarter was weaker than initially estimated in the fourth quarter, underscoring a patchy recovery in the world’s No. 2 economy. GDP expanded at an annualized pace of 3.8 percent in the October-to-December quarter, the government said yesterday, revised down from the 4.6 percent in a preliminary report last month. The new figure was generally in line with market forecasts. Slightly lower business spending and a big drop in inventories — which suggests companies are letting stocks of goods deplete in anticipation of weak demand — drove the GDP revision.
■INTEREST RATES
Seoul maintains rate freeze
South Korea’s central bank yesterday froze the key interest rate at a record low 2 percent for a 13th successive month amid uncertainty about the economy at home and abroad. “Our economy will likely maintain growth amid steadily increasing exports and recovering demand at home, but uncertainty exists over the growth path due to the financial problems of heavily indebted euro-zone countries,” the Bank of Korea said in a statement. Bank Governor Lee Seong-tae, whose four-year term ends this month, said the central bank would maintain its accommodative policy aimed at helping boost the economy for the time being. “But there is a growing consensus that the accommodative policy should be eased at an appropriate time,” Lee told journalists after the rate decision.
■INTEREST RATES
New Zealand retains rate
New Zealand’s central bank said yesterday it would hold the official interest rate at a record low 2.5 percent and signalled the first rise was likely around the middle of the year. Reserve Bank of New Zealand Governor Alan Bollard said the economy was recovering and growth should rise further through this year. “Trading partner activity has recovered a little faster than expected,” Bollard said. “At the same time, risks around the global outlook have increased, although not to the extreme levels seen at the height of the [global financial] crisis,” he added. The central bank estimates economic growth of 3.2 percent this year.
■INTERNET
Google expects decision
Google expects an outcome soon from its talks with China over a censorship and hacking dispute, CEO Eric Schmidt said on Wednesday. Google threatened in January to shut its Chinese Google.cn portal and to pull back from China, citing censorship problems and a hacking attack from within the country. “I’m going to use the word ‘soon,’ which I will not define otherwise,” Schmidt told journalists at the Abu Dhabi Media Summit. “There is no specific timetable. Something will happen soon,” he added, without elaborating.
■AUTOMOBILES
Daihatsu recalls cars
Daihatsu Motor Co, a subsidiary of embattled Toyota, said yesterday it was recalling almost 275,000 vehicles because of possible defects, the latest in a raft of problems hitting Japanese automakers. The move comes as Toyota, which owns a stake of more than 51 percent in the small-car specialist, pulls more than 8 million of its own cars worldwide because of problems with the accelerator and braking systems. Daihatsu said its recall mostly involved a missing or loose bolt in the suspension system, while further problems involve the risk of loose fuel hoses or defective brake lights.
The government is aiming to recruit 1,096 foreign English teachers and teaching assistants this year, the Ministry of Education said yesterday. The foreign teachers would work closely with elementary and junior-high instructors to create and teach courses, ministry official Tsai Yi-ching (蔡宜靜) said. Together, they would create an immersive language environment, helping to motivate students while enhancing the skills of local teachers, she said. The ministry has since 2021 been recruiting foreign teachers through the Taiwan Foreign English Teacher Program, which offers placement, salary, housing and other benefits to eligible foreign teachers. Two centers serving northern and southern Taiwan assist in recruiting and training
WIDE NET: Health officials said they are considering all possibilities, such as bongkrekic acid, while the city mayor said they have not ruled out the possibility of a malicious act of poisoning Two people who dined at a restaurant in Taipei’s Far Eastern Department Store Xinyi A13 last week have died, while four are in intensive care, the Taipei Department of Health said yesterday. All of the outlets of Malaysian vegetarian restaurant franchise Polam Kopitiam have been ordered to close pending an investigation after 11 people became ill due to suspected food poisoning, city officials told a news conference in Taipei. The first fatality, a 39-year-old man who ate at the restaurant on Friday last week, died of kidney failure two days later at the city’s Mackay Memorial Hospital. A 66-year-old man who dined
‘CARRIER KILLERS’: The Tuo Chiang-class corvettes’ stealth capability means they have a radar cross-section as small as the size of a fishing boat, an analyst said President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday presided over a ceremony at Yilan County’s Suao Harbor (蘇澳港), where the navy took delivery of two indigenous Tuo Chiang-class corvettes. The corvettes, An Chiang (安江) and Wan Chiang (萬江), along with the introduction of the coast guard’s third and fourth 4,000-tonne cutters earlier this month, are a testament to Taiwan’s shipbuilding capability and signify the nation’s resolve to defend democracy and freedom, Tsai said. The vessels are also the last two of six Tuo Chiang-class corvettes ordered from Lungteh Shipbuilding Co (龍德造船) by the navy, Tsai said. The first Tuo Chiang-class vessel delivered was Ta Chiang (塔江)
EYE ON STRAIT: The US spending bill ‘doubles security cooperation funding for Taiwan,’ while also seeking to counter the influence of China US President Joe Biden on Saturday signed into law a US$1.2 trillion spending package that includes US$300 million in foreign military financing to Taiwan, as well as funding for Taipei-Washington cooperative projects. The US Congress early on Saturday overwhelmingly passed the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act 2024 to avoid a partial shutdown and fund the government through September for a fiscal year that began six months ago. Under the package, the Defense Appropriations Act would provide a US$27 billion increase from the previous fiscal year to fund “critical national defense efforts, including countering the PRC [People’s Republic of China],” according to a summary