■COMPUTERS
Big Blue’s results shine
Technology colossus IBM reported second quarter income of US$2.77 billion on Thursday, up 22 percent on the same quarter last year on strong global growth in sales of services, hardware and software. Revenue rose 13 percent to US$26.8 billion, with 7 percent of that growth stemming from currency gains caused by the record weakness of the US dollar. “IBM had an outstanding quarter and a strong first half for 2008. These results demonstrate that IBM has the ability to thrive in both emerging and established markets,” said Samuel Palmisano, IBM chairman, president and chief executive officer.
■OIL
Crude prices inch higher
Oil prices rose US$2 to stand above U$131 a barrel yesterday, after a 10 percent decline in the past three trading sessions lured buyers. Easing tensions between Iran and the West and worries that high prices and a weaker US economy will undermine demand have sent US crude down US$15 in just three days, putting it on track for its biggest weekly fall since the contract started trading in New York in 1983. US light crude rose US$2.12 to US$131.41 a barrel by 8:45am GMT, still way off its June 11 record high of US$147.27, as Wednesday’s report of an unexpected build in US crude oil stocks continued to weigh on the price. London Brent crude gained US$2.18 to US$133.25 a barrel.
■BANKING
UBS overhauls US operation
UBS AG overhauled its offshore private banking business for US residents on Thursday in the face of accusations by congressional investigators that the Swiss bank helped clients dodge taxes. In a dramatic hearing on Capitol Hill before a Senate subcommittee, a senior UBS executive apologized and announced the bank would cease offering cross-border private banking through its unregulated units to US-domiciled customers. Mark Branson, chief financial officer for UBS Global Wealth Management and Business Banking, said the bank’s 80,000 employees were alarmed by reports of misconduct.
■OIL
Sinopec issues warning
Chinese oil giant Sinopec, formally known as China Petroleum & Chemical Corp, says its first-half profit will fall more than 50 percent from the same period last year because of government controls that limit its ability to pass on record-high crude costs to consumers. A Sinopec statement, dated on Thursday, gave no estimate of first-half earnings. But the company, Asia’s biggest refiner by volume, reported profits of 36.2 billion yuan (US$5.3 billion) in the year-earlier period. “The net profit for the first half of 2008 will decrease by more than 50 percent compared to the same period of last year,” Beijing-based Sinopec said. It blamed China’s “strict control over refined oil prices.”
■ELECTRONICS
Wii on top in the US
Nintendo said on Thursday that its globally popular Wii has become the top-selling video game console in the US, a crown coveted by rivals Microsoft and Sony. Market-tracking firm NPD Group reported that 666,000 Wii consoles were sold in the US last month, raising the total sales count in the country to nearly 10.9 million units. The Japanese video game giant scored another victory with its DS portable devices, selling more than 783,000 in the US last month, to raise total sales there to 20.8 million units.
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
CHINA POLICY: At the seventh US-EU Dialogue on China, the two sides issued strong support for Taiwan and condemned China’s actions in the South China Sea The US and EU issued a joint statement on Wednesday supporting Taiwan’s international participation, notably omitting the “one China” policy in a departure from previous similar statements, following high-level talks on China and the Indo-Pacific region. The statement also urged China to show restraint in the Taiwan Strait. US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell and European External Action Service Secretary-General Stefano Sannino cochaired the seventh US-EU Dialogue on China and the sixth US-EU Indo-Pacific Consultations from Monday to Tuesday. Since the Indo-Pacific consultations were launched in 2021, references to the “one China” policy have appeared in every statement apart from the
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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