■ECONOMY
US pay czar orders cuts
US President Barack Obama’s pay czar on Tuesday ordered executive compensation at five prominent bailed-out firms to be cut by 15 percent, amid voter anger over Wall Street pay. Kenneth Feinberg said 119 executives at AIG, Chrysler, Chrysler Financial, General Motors and its troubled former finance arm GMAC would this year see their cash rewards slashed by a third and total pay cut by 15 percent versus last year. In a statement the US Treasury — where Feinberg’s office is located — said 82 percent of the executives covered by the ruling will receive cash salaries of US$500,000 or less.
■AVIATION
Conflicting reports on WTO
Officials say the WTO has ruled that European governments unfairly financed Airbus and harmed the fortunes of rival US plane maker Boeing, even as the France-based Airbus claimed it won. Two officials from different countries with knowledge of Tuesday’s confidential WTO ruling say it upheld findings of an “interim” decision handed down last September. That verdict was also confidential. It faulted European governments for providing Airbus with subsidies through risk-free loans, research funding and infrastructure support, officials said. However, Airbus said “70 percent of the US claims were rejected” and that the WTO panel rejected Boeing’s claims that its performance suffered as a result of European subsidies.
■CURRENCIES
East Asian swap launched
East Asian nations yesterday officially launched a US$120 billion regional currency swap agreement, giving them a safety net against future liquidity shortages. The Chiang Mai Initiative Multilateralization covers South Korea, China, Japan and the 10-member ASEAN. The agreement will allow each member to swap local currency for dollars for an amount in proportion to its contribution. Japan and China will each provide 32 percent, US$38.4 billion, of the total. South Korea will contribute US$19.2 billion, or 16 percent, with the remaining US$24 billion shared between the ASEAN members.
■SOFTWARE
Adobe’s Q1 earnings decline
Adobe Systems Inc said on Tuesday that fiscal first-quarter earnings declined on higher expenses, but sales climbed as demand for its design and publishing software improved with the economy. Adobe said it earned US$127.2 million, or US$0.24 per share, during the three months that ended on March 5. That is down 19 percent from a year earlier. Revenue rose 2 percent to US$858.7 million, surpassing analysts’ expectations.
■AUTOMAKERS
Fiat may cut 5,000 jobs
Automaker Fiat is seen cutting 5,000 jobs as part of its strategic plan due to be unveiled next month while at the same time increasing Italian production by 50 percent, newspaper la Repubblica reported. The job cuts would affect three plants in Italy and represent 15 percent of the 30,000 workers employed on assembly lines in the country, the newspaper said..
■AVIATION
EasyJet chooses new CEO
Budget airline easyJet says it has chosen publishing executive Carolyn McCall as its new chief executive. McCall, 48, has been group chief executive of Guardian Media Group, publisher of the Guardian and Observer newspapers, since 2006. EasyJet said yesterday that she replaces Andy Harrison, who will be taking up a new job as chief executive of hotel and restaurant group Whitbread PLC.
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