■US economy
Factory orders decline
US factory orders in September fell for the third time in the last four months as the faltering economic recovery restrains manufacturing. Companies are reluctant to boost orders until consumer and business spending strengthen, economists said. Federal Reserve policy makers may offer aid to the economy by lowering their benchmark interest rate when they meet today. "Demand is weak, business profits aren't good, and companies are being very cautious," said Kevin Logan, chief market economist at Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein Securities LLC in New York. Factory orders decreased 2.3 percent, reflecting fewer bookings for commercial aircraft, machinery and communications equipment, the Commerce Department said.
■ Airlines
BA's Q2 profit up eightfold
British Airways Plc said fiscal second-quarter profit rose eightfold on job and route cuts. Europe's largest airline expects to return to profit for the full year because of the cost reductions. Net income in the three months ended Sept. 30 rose to ?152 million (US$237 million), or 13.7 pence a share, from ?19 million, or 1.8 pence a share, a year earlier, the airline said in a Regulatory News statement. Sales fell 6.5 percent to ?2.1 billion. "They did better than expected," said Chris Tarry, an analyst at Commerzbank, who has the shares under review with no rating. "They're doing very well on the cost side. Revenue is stable, they say. It may be stable but it's still not going up, so improvements still have to come from the cost side. It's a tough environment."
■ China Telecom
IPO slashed 55 percent
China Telecom Corp, a unit of China's biggest fixed-line phone company, cut its initial public offering by 55 percent to as much as US$1.66 billion after investors balked at the size of the offer last week. China Telecom reduced the number of shares it's selling and kept the share price the same, according to revised sale documents filed with US regulators. Selling less new stock will boost earnings per share, increasing potential returns for investors. Merrill Lynch & Co, Morgan Stanley and other banks failed to win enough demand from investors who soured on telephone companies worldwide after their stocks plunged. With the Communist Party Congress this week in Beijing, China's leaders want to complete the sale, adding to the pressure on the banks, investors said.
■ Airlines
Cheap service pondered
Thai Airways International is considering offering a no-frills service for long-haul flights in a bid to tap the booming budget travel market, a report said yesterday. The flag carrier has appointed a subcommittee to research the viability of launching a low-cost service with no hot meals, minimal entertainment, and no seating assignments, Thai Airways president Kanok Abhiradee said in the Bangkok Post. "I'm closely monitoring the service of Australian Airlines, which calls itself a low-cost carrier, offering intercontinental flights at low-cost," Kanok was quoted as saying. Should Australian Airlines prove successful, Thai could launch a similar service on long-haul flights, Kanok said in the daily. Australian Airlines was launched by Qantas Airways Ltd late last month.
Agencies
INVESTIGATION: The case is the latest instance of a DPP figure being implicated in an espionage network accused of allegedly leaking information to Chinese intelligence Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) member Ho Jen-chieh (何仁傑) was detained and held incommunicado yesterday on suspicion of spying for China during his tenure as assistant to then-minister of foreign affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮). The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said Ho was implicated during its investigation into alleged spying activities by former Presidential Office consultant Wu Shang-yu (吳尚雨). Prosecutors said there is reason to believe Ho breached the National Security Act (國家安全法) by leaking classified Ministry of Foreign Affairs information to Chinese intelligence. Following interrogation, prosecutors petitioned the Taipei District Court to detain Ho, citing concerns over potential collusion or tampering of evidence. The
‘FORM OF PROTEST’: The German Institute Taipei said it was ‘shocked’ to see Nazi symbolism used in connection with political aims as it condemned the incident Sung Chien-liang (宋建樑), who led efforts to recall Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lee Kun-cheng (李坤城), was released on bail of NT$80,000 yesterday amid an outcry over a Nazi armband he wore to questioning the night before. Sung arrived at the New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office for questioning in a recall petition forgery case on Tuesday night wearing a red armband bearing a swastika, carrying a copy of Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf and giving a Nazi salute. Sung left the building at 1:15am without the armband and apparently covering the book with a coat. This is a serious international scandal and Chinese
Seventy percent of middle and elementary schools now conduct English classes entirely in English, the Ministry of Education said, as it encourages schools nationwide to adopt this practice Minister of Education (MOE) Cheng Ying-yao (鄭英耀) is scheduled to present a report on the government’s bilingual education policy to the Legislative Yuan’s Education and Culture Committee today. The report would outline strategies aimed at expanding access to education, reducing regional disparities and improving talent cultivation. Implementation of bilingual education policies has varied across local governments, occasionally drawing public criticism. For example, some schools have required teachers of non-English subjects to pass English proficiency
NEGOTIATIONS: The US response to the countermeasures and plans Taiwan presented has been positive, including boosting procurement and investment, the president said Taiwan is included in the first group for trade negotiations with the US, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, as he seeks to shield Taiwanese exporters from a 32 percent tariff. In Washington, US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said in an interview on Fox News on Thursday that he would speak to his Taiwanese and Israeli counterparts yesterday about tariffs after holding a long discussion with the Vietnamese earlier. US President Donald Trump on Wednesday postponed punishing levies on multiple trade partners, including Taiwan, for three months after trillions of US dollars were wiped off global markets. He has maintained a 10 percent
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