■TRADE
China, US tensions grow
China said yesterday it would impose preliminary tariffs on a variety of US chicken products it claims receive government subsidies as trade tensions grow between the two sides. The Chinese Ministry of Commerce said importers of US broiler chicken products would have to pay deposits based on the alleged US government subsidy rates of 3.8 percent to 31.4 percent of the import price. Chinese customs authorities will start collecting the deposits from tomorrow.
■SEMICONDUCTORS
Infineon returns to profit
German semiconductor maker Infineon Technologies AG said that improving growth and demand from automakers, chip card and security providers has put the company back into profitability. The company yesterday reported a net profit of 79 million euros (US$105 million) in the first quarter, compared with a loss of 258 million euros a year earlier. Revenues rose 55 percent to just over 1.03 billion euros, compared with 669 million euros last year.
■MEDIA
DreamWorks’ profit down
DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc on Tuesday reported first-quarter profits that beat expectations and announced a sequel to its latest blockbuster, How to Train Your Dragon. Net income in the first quarter fell 65 percent from a year ago to US$22 million, or US$0.24 per share, mainly because the movie studio lacked a major home video release at the start of this year. DreamWorks’ revenue in the first quarter fell 38 percent to US$162 million from US$264 million.
■ELECTRONICS
LG back in the black
LG Electronics, a top manufacturer of flat-screen televisions and mobile phones, booked a net profit in the first quarter amid higher sales and an earnings contribution from flat-panel maker LG Display. LG Electronics earned 675 billion won (US$605 million) in the first three months of the year, compared with a net loss of 200 billion won in the same period last year. Sales in the first quarter rose 3.7 percent to 13.7 trillion won from 13.2 trillion won a year earlier.
■AUSTRALIA
CPI higher than expected
Inflation rose slightly ahead of forecasts in the first quarter of the year, the Bureau of Statistics said, climbing to 2.9 percent year-on-year and stoking speculation of a new interest rate rise. The consumer price index (CPI) rose 0.9 percent for the first three months of the year, beating the predicted 0.8 percent increase.
■SEMICONDUCTORS
Broadcom beats forecasts
Broadcom Corp’s quarterly results and outlook raced past Wall Street expectations on improving demand for its chips, used in smartphones such as Apple Inc’s iPhone. The maker of semiconductors for an array of products, including set-top boxes and office network equipment, said sales to businesses were strong and it was ramping up chip sales to handset maker Nokia. It said second-quarter revenue would range from US$1.535 billion to US$1.635 billion.
■TELECOMS
Google drops Verizon plan
Google has dropped plans to offer its Nexus One smartphone on the network of Verizon Wireless, the biggest US wireless carrier, in an apparent setback for its mobile phone market expansion. Google did not offer an explanation for the move. Google worked with Taiwan’s HTC (宏達電) to make the Nexus One.
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
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
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
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