■ OIL
Exxon Mobil reports leak
Exxon Mobil Corp, the world's largest oil company, reported an incident at its Baytown, Texas, refinery, the largest in the US. The incident involved a possible exchanger leak at Tail Gas Cleanup Unit C, a filing with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality said. All customer needs are being met, however, the Exxon Mobil report said. Emissions from the incident began at 6am on Saturday and would continue until 6pm yesterday, the filing said. The Baytown refinery has oil-processing capacity of 586,000 barrels a day, the US Energy Department said.
■ OIL
GCC stocks stable
Gulf Arab stocks will probably hold their value this year as oil earnings boost the region's economies even after benchmarks jumped last year, leaving "few bargains" for investors, Nomura Holdings Inc said. "Valuations should be supported by a resilient macroeconomic environment, lower interest rates, moderate earnings growth and plentiful liquidity" this year, Bahrain-based Nomura analyst Tarek Fadlallah said in a note to clients e- mailed yesterday. Local and overseas investors bought shares in countries including the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia on rising corporate earnings, attractive prices and speculation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states will revalue their currencies against the US dollar, Fadlallah said.
■ ECONOMY
Clinton sees recession
Democratic presidential contender Hillary Clinton said on Saturday she believed the US economy was heading toward recession. Citing jobs data on Friday that showed the US unemployment rate rising to its highest level in more than two years, Clinton said: "I think the economy is slipping toward recession." US employers added only 18,000 jobs last month, underlining a dramatically slowing economy. In addition, oil prices topped US$100 a barrel last week.
■ CONSUMING
Cooking oil rationed
Malaysian cooking oil will be rationed starting today to counter a supply shortage caused by smuggling and panic buying amid fears of a price hike, a government official said. Consumers will be allowed to buy only up to 5kg of cooking oil at any one time, said Hoo Seong-chang, parliamentary secretary of the Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry. Supermarkets and retail stores nationwide have been told to enforce the rationing, he said yesterday. "It's a temporary measure to alleviate the shortage. It will help to prevent panic buying," he said.
■ MINING
Uranium production restarts
Energy Resources of Australia Ltd, producer of more than one-tenth of the world's mined uranium, intends to resume full production at its Ranger operation after a cyclone hampered mining and caused a staff evacuation. "We're flying people back in today [yesterday]," company spokeswoman Libby Beath said by telephone from Darwin, in the Northern Territory. Tropical Cyclone Helen, with winds of up to 90kph, swept east across the Territory's coastline yesterday, felling trees and power lines in Darwin and preventing the use of trucks at Ranger.
UPDATED (3:40pm): A suspected gas explosion at a shopping mall in Taichung this morning has killed four people and injured 20 others, as emergency responders continue to investigate. The explosion occurred on the 12th floor of the Shin Kong Mitsukoshi in Situn District (西屯) at 11:33am. One person was declared dead at the scene, while three people were declared deceased later after receiving emergency treatment. Another 20 people sustained major or minor injuries. The Taichung Fire Bureau said it received a report of the explosion at 11:33am and sent rescuers to respond. The cause of the explosion is still under investigation, it said. The National Fire
ACCOUNTABILITY: The incident, which occured at a Shin Kong Mitsukoshi Department Store in Taichung, was allegedly caused by a gas explosion on the 12th floor Shin Kong Group (新光集團) president Richard Wu (吳昕陽) yesterday said the company would take responsibility for an apparent gas explosion that resulted in four deaths and 26 injuries at Shin Kong Mitsukoshi Zhonggang Store in Taichung yesterday. The Taichung Fire Bureau at 11:33am yesterday received a report saying that people were injured after an explosion at the department store on Section 3 of Taiwan Boulevard in Taichung’s Situn District (西屯). It sent 56 ambulances and 136 paramedics to the site, with the people injured sent to Cheng Ching Hospital’s Chung Kang Branch, Wuri Lin Shin Hospital, Taichung Veterans General Hospital or Chung
‘LAWFUL USE’: The last time a US warship transited the Taiwan Strait was on Oct. 20 last year, and this week’s transit is the first of US President Donald Trump’s second term Two US military vessels transited the Taiwan Strait from Sunday through early yesterday, the Ministry of National Defense said in a statement, the first such mission since US President Donald Trump took office last month. The two vessels sailed south through the Strait, the ministry said, adding that it closely monitored nearby airspace and waters at the time and observed nothing unusual. The ministry did not name the two vessels, but the US Navy identified them as the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Ralph Johnson and the Pathfinder-class survey ship USNS Bowditch. The ships carried out a north-to-south transit from
RESOLVE: The increased expenditure, if approved by the legislature, would likely see Taipei buying more defense articles from Washington, reducing its trade surplus The government aims to increase defense spending to at least 3 percent of GDP this year, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, hours after US President Donald Trump again threatened tariffs on Taiwanese semiconductors. At a news conference in Taipei following his first high-level national security meeting this year, Lai said the government would propose a special budget this year to increase the nation’s defense spending to more than 3 percent of GDP. “Taiwan must firmly safeguard its national sovereignty, strengthen its resolve for self-defense and bolster its defense capabilities,” he said. The president also vowed to double down on defense reforms and