■ CURRENCIES
Euro reaches new high
The euro rose to another new record against the US dollar yesterday, hitting US$1.4130 as last week's US Federal Reserve interest rate cut continued to weigh on the US currency. The 13-state currency rose to US$1.4130 before settling back slightly to US$1.4115 in early morning European trading. That compared with a previous peak of US$1.4119 on Friday and with the US$1.4083 it bought in New York late that day. In other trading yesterday, the British pound rose to US$2.0288 from US$2.0200. The US dollar also slid to ?115.01 from ?115.39.
■ BANKING
EU giant in the making
The public owners of the two biggest German public sector banks have begun talks that could lead to a new banking giant in Europe, press reports said yesterday. A merger of Landesbank Baden-Wuerttemberg (LBBW) and Bayern LB would create the second-biggest German bank and one of the biggest in Europe with assets of more than 900 billion euros (US$1.27 billion), the Financial Times reported. A possible three-way tie-up might also include WestLB, the state-owned bank based in the federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia, the Financial Times and the Sueddeutsche Zeitung reported.
■ WINE
Grape harvest drops
Australia's wine grape harvest next year could be cut by more than half by the worst drought in a century, industry groups said yesterday. The vintage is expected to be between 800,000 tonnes and 1.3 million tonnes, down from an average of approximately 1.9 million tonnes, a forecast by an industry taskforce said. "As the season progresses, we will be able to refine our forecasts," said Wine Grape Growers Australia executive director Mark McKenzie. "However, we know for certain that yields will be down dramatically in those regions relying heavily on irrigation water from the Murray Darling."
■ AUTOMOBILES
Ford factory goes online
Ford Motor Co said its newest joint-venture factory in China began operations yesterday and will produce small cars under the Ford and Mazda brands for the fast-growing Chinese market. The US$510 million factory in Nanjing will have an initial production capacity of 160,000 vehicles per year, Ford said. It said that would increase Ford's annual production capacity in China to 410,000 vehicles. The unusually flexible new factory can produce eight models on different chassis, the company said. Ford says its sales in China rose 29 percent in the first eight months of this year to 114,702 vehicles.
■ IPO
Bank raises US$7.6 billion
China Construction Bank Corp (中國建設銀行) said yesterday it had raised 57.12 billion yuan (US$7.6 billion) from its initial public offering in Shanghai, the largest in the country. The proceeds, slightly less than the figure of 58.05 billion yuan announced last week, will be used to supplement working capital, the Beijing-based bank said in an official statement to the Shanghai stock exchange. The country's second-largest bank by assets, which already has a listing in Hong Kong, offered nine billion shares at 6.45 yuan per share, a price at the top end of its proposed range. Its shares will start trading today.
MILESTONE: The foreign minister called the signing ‘a major step forward in US-Taiwan relations,’ while the Presidential Office said it was a symbol of the nations’ shared values US President Donald Trump on Tuesday signed into law the Taiwan Assurance Implementation Act, which requires the US Department of State to regularly review and update guidelines governing official US interactions with Taiwan. The new law is an amendment to the Taiwan Assurance Act of 2020 focused on reviewing guidelines on US interactions with Taiwan. Previously, the state department was required to conduct a one-time review of its guidance governing relations with Taiwan, but under the new bill, the agency must conduct a review “not less than every five years.” It must then submit an updated report based on its findings “not later
A trial run of the north concourse of Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport’s new Terminal 3 is to commence today, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said yesterday. The eight additional boarding gates would allow for more aircraft parking spaces that are expected to boost the airport’s capacity by 5.8 million passengers annually, Deputy Minister of Transportation and Communications Lin Kuo-shian (林國顯) said. The concourse, designed by a team led by British architect Richard Rogers, provides a refreshing space, Lin said, adding that travelers would enjoy the tall and transparent design that allows sunshine to stream into the concourse through glass curtain walls. The
The Presidential Office today thanked the US for enacting the Taiwan Assurance Implementation Act, which requires the US Department of State to regularly review and update guidelines governing official US interactions with Taiwan. The new law, signed by US President Donald Trump yesterday, is an amendment to the Taiwan Assurance Act of 2020 focused on reviewing guidelines on US interactions with Taiwan. Previously, the department was required to conduct a one-time review of its guidance governing relations with Taiwan, but under the new bill, the agency must conduct such a review "not less than every five years." It must then submit an updated
Taiwanese prosecutors charged Tokyo Electron Ltd for failing to prevent staff from allegedly stealing Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) trade secrets, escalating a dispute involving two Asian linchpins of a chip industry increasingly vital to national and economic security. Prosecutors indicted the Japanese company on four counts of contravening the Trade Secrets Act (營業秘密法) and the National Security Act (國家安全法), they said in a statement yesterday. They’re asking a local court to rule in favor of their request for Tokyo Electron pay a fine of up to NT$120 million (US$3.8 million) for failing in its duty to prevent the alleged
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