■ TRANSPORTATION
Eurostar breaks record
The Eurostar high-speed train set another new record on Thursday, racing from Brussels to London in less than two hours only weeks after shattering its fastest time from Paris. The train made the trip from Brussels in one hour and 43 minutes, shaving at least 20 minutes off previous best times for the 371km to London, the company announced. The reduction in travel time has been made possible by the completion of a new 109km section of high-speed track in England.
■ RETAIL
Dip in spending expected
The housing crisis and credit crunch will crimp US holiday spending this year, a retailers' association warned on Thursday. The National Retail Federation (NRF) predicted sales will rise 4.0 percent this year to US$474.5 billion. That would be well below the 10-year average of 4.8 percent growth and represent the slowest holiday sales growth since 2002, when sales rose 1.3 percent. "Retailers are in for a somewhat challenging holiday season as consumers are faced with numerous economic obstacles," NRF chief economist Rosalind Wells said. The group said the trend will vary among income groups, with well-heeled consumers able to maintain spending.
■ PRIVATE EQUITY
Carlyle sells stake
Private-equity firm Carlyle Group said on Thursday it sold a 7.5 percent stake in its management operations for US$1.35 billion to an investment arm of the government of Abu Dhabi, setting up a potential initial public offering. The sale price represents a 10 percent discount, based on the Carlyle Group's US$20 billion valuation. Mubadala, one of two investment arms of the Abu Dhabi government, received a nonvoting stake in the company for the US$1.35 billion purchase. Mubadala also committed US$500 million to an investment fund managed by Carlyle as part of the deal. It is the first investment in a private-equity firm for Mubadala, a Carlyle spokesman said.
■ CHEMICALS
Sinopec, DuPont team up
China Petroleum & Chemical Corp (中國石油化工), or Sinopec, has formed a chemicals joint venture with a unit of US company DuPont Co, it said yesterday. Production of ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) resins is due to begin late next year at a new plant to be built by the venture in Beijing, Sinopec said. "The new facility will help meet fast-growing demand for EVA products in China," Sinopec said in a statement on its Web site. Sinopec will own 55 percent of the joint venture, which will have an annual capacity of around 60,000 tonnes. The remaining 45 percent will be owned by DuPont Packaging & Industrial Polymers.
■ INTEREST RATES
IMF supports US rate cut
The IMF voiced support on Thursday for the US Federal Reserve's interest rate cut two days ago, saying it should help ease a credit crunch that has roiled financial markets. "The cut ... should help to forestall the adverse macroeconomic effects of the tightening in credit conditions," IMF spokesman Masood Ahmed said at a news briefing. The Fed on Tuesday aggressively cut its key federal funds rate by a half point to 4.75 percent. "The Fed and other central banks have rightly been emphasizing that they would be prepared to act as needed to mitigate the adverse effects on the economy arising from the disruptions in financial markets," Ahmed said.
The Chien Feng IV (勁蜂, Mighty Hornet) loitering munition is on track to enter flight tests next month in connection with potential adoption by Taiwanese and US armed forces, a government source said yesterday. The kamikaze drone, which boasts a range of 1,000km, debuted at the Taipei Aerospace and Defense Technology Exhibition in September, the official said on condition of anonymity. The Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology and US-based Kratos Defense jointly developed the platform by leveraging the engine and airframe of the latter’s MQM-178 Firejet target drone, they said. The uncrewed aerial vehicle is designed to utilize an artificial intelligence computer
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus yesterday decided to shelve proposed legislation that would give elected officials full control over their stipends, saying it would wait for a consensus to be reached before acting. KMT Legislator Chen Yu-jen (陳玉珍) last week proposed amendments to the Organic Act of the Legislative Yuan (立法院組織法) and the Regulations on Allowances for Elected Representatives and Subsidies for Village Chiefs (地方民意代表費用支給及村里長事務補助費補助條例), which would give legislators and councilors the freedom to use their allowances without providing invoices for reimbursement. The proposal immediately drew criticism, amid reports that several legislators face possible charges of embezzling fees intended to pay
REQUIREMENTS: The US defense secretary must submit a Taiwan security assistance road map and an appraisal of Washington’s ability to respond to Indo-Pacific conflict The US Congress has released a new draft of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which includes up to US$1 billion in funding for Taiwan-related security cooperation next year. The version published on Sunday by US House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson removed earlier language that would have invited Taiwan to participate in the US-led Rim of the Pacific Exercise (RIMPAC). A statement on Johnson’s Web page said the NDAA “enhances U.S. defense initiatives in the Indo-Pacific to bolster Taiwan’s defense and support Indo-Pacific allies.” The bill would require the US secretary of defense to “enable fielding of uncrewed and anti-uncrewed systems capabilities”
Renewed border fighting between Thailand and Cambodia showed no signs of abating yesterday, leaving hundreds of thousands of displaced people in both countries living in strained conditions as more flooded into temporary shelters. Reporters on the Thai side of the border heard sounds of outgoing, indirect fire yesterday. About 400,000 people have been evacuated from affected areas in Thailand and about 700 schools closed while fighting was ongoing in four border provinces, said Thai Rear Admiral Surasant Kongsiri, a spokesman for the military. Cambodia evacuated more than 127,000 villagers and closed hundreds of schools, the Thai Ministry of Defense said. Thailand’s military announced that
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