■ AUTOMOBILES
Ford to recall vehicles
Ford Motor Co said on Saturday it was recalling about 225,000 vehicles that were already repaired as part of an earlier recall to address concerns about a cruise control deactivation switch. Ford said the affected vehicles represent a small portion of the about 10 million vehicles that have been recalled since 1999 related to the cruise control switch problem. Ford spokesman Wesley Sherwood said the automaker would notify the US National Highway Traffic Safety Admini-stration this week about the latest recall, which was reported on Saturday by the Detroit News.
■ BANKING
French bank issues letter
Societe Generale SA, the French bank where a trader's unauthorized bets led to a record 4.9 billion euros (US$7.2 billion) loss, published an open letter to clients saying the future of the bank isn't threatened. "This accident, however serious it may be, doesn't endanger the good health of the company," Societe Generale said in a full-page advertisement published in Le Parisien and Le Monde newspapers on Saturday. Societe Generale said on Jan. 24 that errant trades on European stock index futures by 31-year-old Jerome Kerviel had led to a 4.9 billion euro loss, depleting the bank's capital and spurring talk of a takeover.
■ FINANCE
China to curb credit growth
China will curb credit growth further this year and make its currency more flexible as it tries to cool economic growth and stave off inflation, former Central Bank deputy governor Wu Xiaoling (吳曉靈) said. "The US rate cuts have limited the room for the central bank to use interest rate as a leverage tool to adjust domestic demand," Wu said on Saturday at an economic conference in Beijing. The central bank has been raising banks' reserve requirements and selling sterilization bills in the open market since last year, which was "effective" in "absorbing the excess part" of money in the system, Wu said.
■ COMPUTERS
Hackers target Mac
Apple users should be prepared for a spike in attacks from hackers looking to pick their pockets. Last year saw the first release of malicious programs written by criminals specifically targeting the Apple platform in an attempt to steal money through ploys like phishing attacks, the IT software firm Sophos reported. A growing number of these attempts can be expected this year as well. "Users of Apple computers are no longer secure from cyber criminality any more," said Matthias Gaertner of the German Federal Agency for Security in Information Technology in Bonn.
■ OIL
OPEC allays fears
Libya's oil chief Shukri Ghanem downplayed fears on Saturday that oil cartel OPEC could decide to lower production at its March 5 meeting in Vienna. "I don't think much will happen [at the meeting]. I think prices will stay between US$85 and US$90," Ghanem said after an extraordinary OPEC meeting in Vienna. He said he was happy with a price range between US$82 and US$90 per barrel. Light sweet crude for delivery in March closed on Friday in New York at US$88.96 per barrel. Industry analysts have said OPEC could lower production next month to prevent a drop in oil prices in the event of a recession in the US.
SLOW-MOVING STORM: The typhoon has started moving north, but at a very slow pace, adding uncertainty to the extent of its impact on the nation Work and classes have been canceled across the nation today because of Typhoon Krathon, with residents in the south advised to brace for winds that could reach force 17 on the Beaufort scale as the Central Weather Administration (CWA) forecast that the storm would make landfall there. Force 17 wind with speeds of 56.1 to 61.2 meters per second, the highest number on the Beaufort scale, rarely occur and could cause serious damage. Krathon could be the second typhoon to land in southwestern Taiwan, following typhoon Elsie in 1996, CWA records showed. As of 8pm yesterday, the typhoon’s center was 180km
TYPHOON DAY: Taitung, Pingtung, Tainan, Chiayi, Hualien and Kaohsiung canceled work and classes today. The storm is to start moving north this afternoon The outer rim of Typhoon Krathon made landfall in Taitung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春半島) at about noon yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, adding that the eye of the storm was expected to hit land tomorrow. The CWA at 2:30pm yesterday issued a land alert for Krathon after issuing a sea alert on Sunday. It also expanded the scope of the sea alert to include waters north of Taiwan Strait, in addition to its south, from the Bashi Channel to the Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島). As of 6pm yesterday, the typhoon’s center was 160km south of
STILL DANGEROUS: The typhoon was expected to weaken, but it would still maintain its structure, with high winds and heavy rain, the weather agency said One person had died amid heavy winds and rain brought by Typhoon Krathon, while 70 were injured and two people were unaccounted for, the Central Emergency Operation Center said yesterday, while work and classes have been canceled nationwide today for the second day. The Hualien County Fire Department said that a man in his 70s had fallen to his death at about 11am on Tuesday while trimming a tree at his home in Shoufeng Township (壽豐). Meanwhile, the Yunlin County Fire Department received a report of a person falling into the sea at about 1pm on Tuesday, but had to suspend search-and-rescue
RULES BROKEN: The MAC warned Chinese not to say anything that would be harmful to the autonomous status of Taiwan or undermine its sovereignty A Chinese couple accused of disrupting a pro-democracy event in Taipei organized by Hong Kong residents has been deported, the National Immigration Agency said in a statement yesterday afternoon. A Chinese man, surnamed Yao (姚), and his wife were escorted by immigration officials to Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, where they boarded a flight to China before noon yesterday, the agency said. The agency said that it had annulled the couple’s entry permits, citing alleged contraventions of the Regulations Governing the Approval of Entry of People of the Mainland Area into the Taiwan Area (大陸地區人民進入台灣地區許可辦法). The couple applied to visit a family member in
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