■BANKING
FSA censures Citigroup
Citigroup Inc was ordered to suspend some operations in Japan for a month, the nation’s Financial Services Agency (FSA) said. The US bank had inadequate internal controls, the regulator said. Meanwhile, Sumitomo Trust & Banking Co is in the final stages of talks to buy Citigroup’s Nikko Asset Management Co for more than US$1 billion, the Nikkei reported yesterday. The two companies aim to reach a deal next week, the business daily reported in its evening edition, without naming its sources.
■AUTOMOBILES
Hummer deal unlikely
China’s planning agency is likely to reject a Chinese company’s bid to acquire General Motors Corp’s Hummer unit, in part because its gas-guzzling vehicles conflict with Beijing’s conservation goals, state radio reported. The National Development and Reform Commission is also likely to say Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery Corp (四川騰中重工機械), a maker of construction machinery, lacks expertise to run Hummer, China National Radio said late on Thursday. It cited no source.
■COMPUTING
PC shipments to rise
Gartner Inc analysts are predicting this holiday season will be sweeter than last year’s for the personal computer industry. The technology research group predicts some growth in PC shipments in the final three months of this year, though it did not say how much. PC shipments dropped about 7 percent in the first quarter and Gartner says it expects 10 percent declines from last year’s levels in the next two quarters. For next year, Gartner forecasts PC shipments will rise about 10 percent from this year.
■FRANCE
Confidence edges up
French consumer confidence edged up again this month, but still remains weak, official data showed yesterday. The INSEE statistics body said its consumer confidence index for households rose to minus 37 points this month from minus 40 points in May. The index hit a record low of minus 48 points in July last year. This month, French households were more positive about the outlook on their finances, with this index rising sharply to minus 13 points from minus 23 points in May.
■SOUTH KOREA
Another surplus logged
South Korea logged a current account surplus for the fourth straight month last month as imports fell faster than exports during the ongoing global economic slump, the central Bank of Korea said yesterday. The current account surplus stood at US$3.63 billion in May, compared with US$4.25 billion a month earlier. For the first five months, the accumulated current account surplus amounted to US$16.46 billion.
■UNITED STATES
Swap deals extended
The US Federal Reserve said on Thursday it was extending US dollar swap deals with 13 central banks into next year following a review of liquidity programs aimed at promoting “financial stability.” The deals were clinched beginning last year as the Fed and other key central banks moved to boost lending and unblock the global credit squeeze. The extension of the US dollar swap arrangements through Feb. 1 applies to the central banks of Australia, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, the UK, South Korea, Mexico, New Zealand, Norway, Singapore, Sweden, Switzerland and the European Central Bank.
SECURITY: As China is ‘reshaping’ Hong Kong’s population, Taiwan must raise the eligibility threshold for applications from Hong Kongers, Chiu Chui-cheng said When Hong Kong and Macau citizens apply for residency in Taiwan, it would be under a new category that includes a “national security observation period,” Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday. President William Lai (賴清德) on March 13 announced 17 strategies to counter China’s aggression toward Taiwan, including incorporating national security considerations into the review process for residency applications from Hong Kong and Macau citizens. The situation in Hong Kong is constantly changing, Chiu said to media yesterday on the sidelines of the Taipei Technology Run hosted by the Taipei Neihu Technology Park Development Association. With
A US Marine Corps regiment equipped with Naval Strike Missiles (NSM) is set to participate in the upcoming Balikatan 25 exercise in the Luzon Strait, marking the system’s first-ever deployment in the Philippines. US and Philippine officials have separately confirmed that the Navy Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System (NMESIS) — the mobile launch platform for the Naval Strike Missile — would take part in the joint exercise. The missiles are being deployed to “a strategic first island chain chokepoint” in the waters between Taiwan proper and the Philippines, US-based Naval News reported. “The Luzon Strait and Bashi Channel represent a critical access
‘FORM OF PROTEST’: The German Institute Taipei said it was ‘shocked’ to see Nazi symbolism used in connection with political aims as it condemned the incident Sung Chien-liang (宋建樑), who led efforts to recall Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lee Kun-cheng (李坤城), was released on bail of NT$80,000 yesterday amid an outcry over a Nazi armband he wore to questioning the night before. Sung arrived at the New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office for questioning in a recall petition forgery case on Tuesday night wearing a red armband bearing a swastika, carrying a copy of Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf and giving a Nazi salute. Sung left the building at 1:15am without the armband and apparently covering the book with a coat. This is a serious international scandal and Chinese
COUNTERINTELLIGENCE TRAINING: The ministry said 87.5 percent of the apprehended Chinese agents were reported by service members they tried to lure into becoming spies Taiwanese organized crime, illegal money lenders, temples and civic groups are complicit in Beijing’s infiltration of the armed forces, the Ministry of National Defense (MND) said in a report yesterday. Retired service members who had been turned to Beijing’s cause mainly relied on those channels to infiltrate the Taiwanese military, according to the report to be submitted to lawmakers ahead of tomorrow’s hearing on Chinese espionage in the military. Chinese intelligence typically used blackmail, Internet-based communications, bribery or debts to loan sharks to leverage active service personnel to do its bidding, it said. China’s main goals are to collect intelligence, and develop a
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