■ Banking
Class action nets billions
Four investment banks on Wednesday agreed to pay a total of US$428.4 million to settle claims stemming from a class-action lawsuit brought by former shareholders of WorldCom Inc. New York state comptroller Alan Hevesi said in a statement that he had reached an agreement with Amsterdam-based ABN AMRO Bank for US$278.4 million. Mitsubishi Securities International Plc agreed to pay US$75 million, while BNP Paribas Securities Corp. and Mizuho International both agreed to pay US$37.5 million. Wednesday's settlements bring the total amount paid by investment banks to settle the suit to US$3.56 billion, surpassing the US$3.2 billion settlement by services giant Cendant Corp in 2000 over accounting fraud that cost shareholders billions, Hevesi said. Last week, Lehman Brothers Inc of New York agreed to pay US$62.7 million to settle the suit. Three other banks each agreed to pay US$12.54 million -- Credit Suisse First Boston; Goldman, Sachs and Co of New York; and UBS Warburg LLC.
■ Banking
HSBC boosts HK staff
HSBC Holdings Plc, Europe's largest bank by market value, plans to hire 200 employees to help sell wealth-management products in Hong Kong as it opens 18 financial management centers in the city to boost fee income. "We will continue to reduce our reliance on traditional interest income sources because of declining margins," said Dorothy Sit, head of personal financial services in Hong Kong, at a press briefing today. "We hope 2004 was the worst, but some things are beyond our control." HSBC reported its slowest earnings growth in two-and-a-half years as earnings from consumer lending in the US declined.
■ Litigation
Coach fed up with Vuitton
Coach, Inc, a leading marketer of modern classic American accessories, said on Wednesday it has filed a complaint with the Japanese Fair Trade Commission against French firm LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton, accusing it of harassing and anti-competitive practices. The complaint, filed in Tokyo on Tuesday, alleges LVMH engaged in inappropriate and threatening behavior by exerting pressure on common business partners in Japan. LVMH is being accused of threatening department-store management with either not going forward with development plans or pulling the Louis Vuitton brand out of certain locations entirely if the retailers allowed Coach to open or expand.
■ Gold
Ten-week high for gold
Gold rose to its highest level in 10 weeks after the US dollar weakened to a nine-week low against the euro, boosting the precious metal's appeal as an alternative investment to US stocks. The US dollar fell in Asia after Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said his country "in general" needs to consider diversifying its foreign reserves. Spot gold prices have gained 10.5 percent in the last 12 months as the euro rose 9.8 percent against the dollar in the same period. Gold for immediate delivery rose as much as US$2.06, or 0.5 percent, to US$442.65 an ounce, the highest since an intraday high of US$444.49 last Dec. 29. It traded at US$442.15 an ounce at 2:42pm Singapore time, up US$1.55 from US$440.60 yesterday in New York, the highest closing price since Dec. 28.
‘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
PERSONAL DATA: The implicated KMT members allegedly compiled their petitions by copying names from party lists without the consent of the people concerned Judicial authorities searched six locations yesterday and questioned six people, including one elderly Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) member and five KMT Youth League associates, about alleged signature forgery and fraud relating to their recall efforts against two Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators. After launching a probe into alleged signature forgery and related fraud in the KMT’s recall effort, prosecutors received a number of complaints, including about one petition that had 1,748 signatures of voters whose family members said they had already passed away, and also voters who said they did not approve the use of their name, Taipei Deputy Chief Prosecutor
A US Marine Corps regiment equipped with Naval Strike Missiles (NSM) is set to participate in the upcoming Balikatan 25 exercise in the Luzon Strait, marking the system’s first-ever deployment in the Philippines. US and Philippine officials have separately confirmed that the Navy Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System (NMESIS) — the mobile launch platform for the Naval Strike Missile — would take part in the joint exercise. The missiles are being deployed to “a strategic first island chain chokepoint” in the waters between Taiwan proper and the Philippines, US-based Naval News reported. “The Luzon Strait and Bashi Channel represent a critical access
COUNTERINTELLIGENCE TRAINING: The ministry said 87.5 percent of the apprehended Chinese agents were reported by service members they tried to lure into becoming spies Taiwanese organized crime, illegal money lenders, temples and civic groups are complicit in Beijing’s infiltration of the armed forces, the Ministry of National Defense (MND) said in a report yesterday. Retired service members who had been turned to Beijing’s cause mainly relied on those channels to infiltrate the Taiwanese military, according to the report to be submitted to lawmakers ahead of tomorrow’s hearing on Chinese espionage in the military. Chinese intelligence typically used blackmail, Internet-based communications, bribery or debts to loan sharks to leverage active service personnel to do its bidding, it said. China’s main goals are to collect intelligence, and develop a
RSS