■ Steel
Cross-strait firms pen deal
Wuhan Iron & Steel Group (武鋼), China's third-largest steelmaker, and Taiwan's China Steel Corp (中鋼) have agreed to cooperate in technology development and staff training to compete with rivals such as Nippon Steel Corp. China's State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission said on Thursday that Wuhan Steel and China Steel signed the accord on Monday. The partnership will cover marketing and company management. Japan's Nippon Steel and South Korea's Posco, Asia's two largest steelmakers, said on Sunday they will spend more than US$900 million to boost crossholdings.
■ Oil
Record profit reported
The world's largest company, ExxonMobil Corp, announced record profits for last quarter of US$10.49 billion on Thursday on the back of red-hot oil prices. ExxonMobil said its net profits spiked 26 percent from US$8.30 billion in the same period last year. Earnings per share of US$1.77 for the quarter, up from US$1.32 a year ago, were well above most Wall Street predictions of US$1.58 dollars.ExxonMobil's shares rose, but the political heat on the company mounted as top Democratic lawmakers including Senator Hillary Clinton accused it of squeezing consumers and demanded an end to industry tax breaks.
■ Automobiles
Ford reiterates priorities
Although it's fighting financial troubles, US automaker Ford reiterated its commitment to investing in new products and technology, a senior executive said yesterday. "Despite the difficult times at Ford, we think it's extremely important to invest in the product," said Susan Cischke, vice president overseeing environmental and safety engineering at Ford Motor Co. Cischke said in Tokyo that Ford sees ecological technology as crucial, including more efficient gas engines, hybrids that deliver better mileage, and the more futuristic fuel cell vehicles.
■ Aircraft
Airbus delays delivery
European aircraft manufacturer Airbus will deliver six A380 aircraft to Virgin Atlantic in 2013, a four-year delay, the British company said on Thursday. "Virgin Atlantic has reached an agreement in principle with Airbus to defer deliveries of its Airbus A380 aircraft until 2013," a spokeswoman for the airline told reporters, specifying this represented a delay of four years. "By then, we believe, the A380 will have proven its innovative design over several years in commercial service," she said. At the beginning of October, Airbus announced a third delay for delivery of the super-jumbo, because of persistent manufacturing problems.
■ Energy
Russia probes Sakhalin-2
The Russian Prosecutor General's Office said yesterday it may launch a criminal case over alleged environmental violations at a giant Shell-led energy project, as officials continue to crank up the pressure at the troubled multibillion-dollar development. "The Prosecutor General's Office plans to inspect materials provided by the Natural Resource Ministry on ecological violations during the Sakhalin-2 project," prosecution spokesman Konstantin Nikonov told reporters. "If there are sufficient grounds after this inspection a criminal case will be opened," he said.
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
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