■INSURANCE
Allianz profit plunges
German insurance giant Allianz said yesterday that its second-quarter net profit plunged by 45.6 percent from the same period a year earlier to 1.02 billion euros (US$1.34 billion). The quarter rounded out a first half that was “marked by exceptionally high natural catastrophe losses,” a statement quoted chief executive Michael Diekmann as saying. The group said the fall also stemmed from “a low level of harvesting” compared with the same period a year earlier, when Allianz booked a high level of gains on investments in stocks, debt securities and real estate.
■AVIATION
JAL to sell hotels stake
The Japan Airlines Group (JAL) yesterday said it would sell a 79.6 percent stake in its hotel business subsidiary by the end of September as it continues to restructure, focusing on its core business. JAL, which currently holds a 90.7 percent stake in JAL Hotels Co through its wholly owned subsidiary Japan Airlines International Co, declined to disclose the value of the sale to Hotel Okura Co. The carrier, which filed for bankruptcy protection in January, will retain its remaining 11.1 percent stake in JAL Hotels, which operates 40 hotels in Japan and 18 hotels overseas. The brand names of Hotel Nikko and Hotel JAL City will be retained as part of the deal, JAL said.
■UNITED KINGDOM
Industrial output falls
Industrial output fell unexpectedly in June after an earlier-than-usual start to seasonal oil field maintenance work, but the fall does not alter the strong economic growth recorded between April and June. The Office for National Statistics said industrial output fell 0.5 percent in June, confounding forecasts for a 0.2 percent rise, after oil and gas output fell 6 percent in the month, its biggest fall in just under a year. Manufacturing output rose 0.3 percent in the month, also below expectations for a 0.4 percent rise. The office said yesterday’s data would not lead to any revision of its second quarter GDP figures, which showed growth of 1.1 percent for the economy as a whole.
■FINANCE
Fannie Mae needs less cash
US government-controlled mortgage buyer Fannie Mae is asking for less money from the government, a sign that the cost to taxpayers for bailing out the mortgage giant could be billions lower than once thought. Fannie Mae said on Thursday it has now set aside enough money to cover the majority of losses stemming from bad loans made from 2005 through 2008. It requested US$1.5 billion in additional taxpayer aid after posting the best quarterly results since the company was put under federal control in September 2008. Fannie Mae said on Thursday that it lost US$3.13 billion, or US$0.55 per share, in the April to June period.
■ENTERTAINMENT
Download growth slowing
Digital download sales growth slowed further for Warner Music Group Corp in its fiscal third quarter, prompting chief executive Edgar Bronfman Jr to say on Thursday that the company was looking “beyond the iTunes model” to return to growth. After the company reported a wider loss, Bronfman pointed to new “access models” based on monthly music subscription plans and the entry of Google Inc and others into the business to reverse a decade of declining CD sales. Revenue from digital sales of recorded music grew just 3.7 percent to US$169 million, a slower pace than the 4.5 percent growth posted a year ago.
NO HUMAN ERROR: After the incident, the Coast Guard Administration said it would obtain uncrewed aerial vehicles and vessels to boost its detection capacity Authorities would improve border control to prevent unlawful entry into Taiwan’s waters and safeguard national security, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday after a Chinese man reached the nation’s coast on an inflatable boat, saying he “defected to freedom.” The man was found on a rubber boat when he was about to set foot on Taiwan at the estuary of Houkeng River (後坑溪) near Taiping Borough (太平) in New Taipei City’s Linkou District (林口), authorities said. The Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) northern branch said it received a report at 6:30am yesterday morning from the New Taipei City Fire Department about a
IN BEIJING’S FAVOR: A China Coast Guard spokesperson said that the Chinese maritime police would continue to carry out law enforcement activities in waters it claims The Philippines withdrew its coast guard vessel from a South China Sea shoal that has recently been at the center of tensions with Beijing. BRP Teresa Magbanua “was compelled to return to port” from Sabina Shoal (Xianbin Shoal, 仙濱暗沙) due to bad weather, depleted supplies and the need to evacuate personnel requiring medical care, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesman Jay Tarriela said yesterday in a post on X. The Philippine vessel “will be in tiptop shape to resume her mission” after it has been resupplied and repaired, Philippine Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, who heads the nation’s maritime council, said
REGIONAL STABILITY: Taipei thanked the Biden administration for authorizing its 16th sale of military goods and services to uphold Taiwan’s defense and safety The US Department of State has approved the sale of US$228 million of military goods and services to Taiwan, the US Department of Defense said on Monday. The state department “made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale” to the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the US for “return, repair and reshipment of spare parts and related equipment,” the defense department’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency said in a news release. Taiwan had requested the purchase of items and services which include the “return, repair and reshipment of classified and unclassified spare parts for aircraft and related equipment; US Government
More than 500 people on Saturday marched in New York in support of Taiwan’s entry to the UN, significantly more people than previous years. The march, coinciding with the ongoing 79th session of the UN General Assembly, comes close on the heels of growing international discourse regarding the meaning of UN Resolution 2758. Resolution 2758, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1971, recognizes the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as the “only lawful representative of China.” It resulted in the Republic of China (ROC) losing its seat at the UN to the PRC. Taiwan has since been excluded from