■ Crude oil
Nigerians go on strike
Nigerian oil workers launched an indefinite strike on Saturday that could shut down crude exports in the world's sixth largest oil exporter. The strike over pay and working conditions comes as the threat of war in Iraq and a prolonged strike in Venezuela have pushed oil prices to a two-year high. Half of Nigerian exports go to the US. The action was launched by employees of the Department of Petroleum Resources, a key government unit overseeing operations of oil multinationals like ExxonMobil, Chevron-Texaco, Royal Dutch/Shell and TotalFinaElf. It is backed by the country's powerful Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria. Nigeria produces close to 2 million barrels of oil a day, more than 95 percent of which is pumped by joint ventures between the government and major oil companies.
■ Semiconductors
Infineon may move HQ
Infineon Technologies AG, Europe's No. 2 semiconductor maker, may move its headquarters outside of Germany to cut costs, reported the German magazine Spiegel, citing an internal study. The Munich-based company could save hundreds of millions of euros in taxes by moving to Switzerland once it returned to profit, the magazine reported. Some 300 top managers would move, Spiegel said in an article to be published today. Infineon has posted losses for the last seven quarters because of a glut of chips on the market. The company sells its chips for less than it costs to make them.
■ Airlines
Air China stops flights
China's national carrier, Air China, has suspended flights to Kuwait citing concerns over mounting tension in the Gulf region, airline employees and state media said yesterday. "We are no longer selling tickets for flights from Beijing to Kuwait," said one of the airline's ticket sales agents in Beijing. "I don't know when the flights will be resumed." Earlier this week Beijing said it was cutting its Baghdad embassy staff and providing contingency plans for the evacuation of its citizens in Iraq. The latest move to cancel the flight to Kuwait appears to show Beijing, while calling for a political solution to the Iraqi crisis, is preparing for a potential a war against Iraq. Flights CA945 and CA946 flew between Beijing, Karachi in Pakistan and Kuwait once a week, but now will only fly between Beijing and Karachi, the official Xinhua news agency said.
■ Banking
Sumitomo to sell shares
Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc, Japan's second-biggest bank, plans to sell as much as Japanese yen 300 billion (US$2.49 billion) of preferred shares to pay for loan write-offs, the Nihon Keizai newspaper said, without citing anyone. The bank will sell between ¥250 billion and Japanese yen 300 billion of shares by the end of March, targeting European and US hedge funds, as well as Japanese investors, the report said. Raising capital is key to efforts by Japan's seven biggest banks to cut 24 trillion yen of bad loans and avoid possible government seizure. Sumitomo Mitsui agreed last month to sell Japanese yen 150.3 billion of preferred shares to Goldman Sachs Group Inc, the third-biggest US securities firm. Sumitomo Mitsui's plan would bring the amount targeted to be raised by the nation's five biggest lenders, including Mizuho Holdings Inc and UFJ Holdings Inc, to more than Japanese yen 2 trillion.
SLOW-MOVING STORM: The typhoon has started moving north, but at a very slow pace, adding uncertainty to the extent of its impact on the nation Work and classes have been canceled across the nation today because of Typhoon Krathon, with residents in the south advised to brace for winds that could reach force 17 on the Beaufort scale as the Central Weather Administration (CWA) forecast that the storm would make landfall there. Force 17 wind with speeds of 56.1 to 61.2 meters per second, the highest number on the Beaufort scale, rarely occur and could cause serious damage. Krathon could be the second typhoon to land in southwestern Taiwan, following typhoon Elsie in 1996, CWA records showed. As of 8pm yesterday, the typhoon’s center was 180km
TYPHOON DAY: Taitung, Pingtung, Tainan, Chiayi, Hualien and Kaohsiung canceled work and classes today. The storm is to start moving north this afternoon The outer rim of Typhoon Krathon made landfall in Taitung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春半島) at about noon yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, adding that the eye of the storm was expected to hit land tomorrow. The CWA at 2:30pm yesterday issued a land alert for Krathon after issuing a sea alert on Sunday. It also expanded the scope of the sea alert to include waters north of Taiwan Strait, in addition to its south, from the Bashi Channel to the Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島). As of 6pm yesterday, the typhoon’s center was 160km south of
STILL DANGEROUS: The typhoon was expected to weaken, but it would still maintain its structure, with high winds and heavy rain, the weather agency said One person had died amid heavy winds and rain brought by Typhoon Krathon, while 70 were injured and two people were unaccounted for, the Central Emergency Operation Center said yesterday, while work and classes have been canceled nationwide today for the second day. The Hualien County Fire Department said that a man in his 70s had fallen to his death at about 11am on Tuesday while trimming a tree at his home in Shoufeng Township (壽豐). Meanwhile, the Yunlin County Fire Department received a report of a person falling into the sea at about 1pm on Tuesday, but had to suspend search-and-rescue
RULES BROKEN: The MAC warned Chinese not to say anything that would be harmful to the autonomous status of Taiwan or undermine its sovereignty A Chinese couple accused of disrupting a pro-democracy event in Taipei organized by Hong Kong residents has been deported, the National Immigration Agency said in a statement yesterday afternoon. A Chinese man, surnamed Yao (姚), and his wife were escorted by immigration officials to Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, where they boarded a flight to China before noon yesterday, the agency said. The agency said that it had annulled the couple’s entry permits, citing alleged contraventions of the Regulations Governing the Approval of Entry of People of the Mainland Area into the Taiwan Area (大陸地區人民進入台灣地區許可辦法). The couple applied to visit a family member in
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