■UNITED KINGDOM
UK hit by record decline
The UK’s recession-battered economy shrank at its fastest pace in more than 50 years in the first quarter of this year, revised official data showed yesterday, amid the worst global slowdown in decades. GDP contracted 2.4 percent in the first three months of the year from the final quarter of last year, the Office for National Statistics said. On a year-on-year basis, Britain’s economy declined by 4.9 percent in the first quarter, the largest contraction since records began in 1948.
■EUROZONE
Inflation turns negative
Inflation in the 16 countries using the euro turned negative last month for the first time on record, dipping 0.1 percent over 12 months, an estimate from the Eurostat data agency showed yesterday. The Eurostat figure put eurozone inflation at the lowest point on records going back to 1996 and was down from the zero percent that the agency booked in May. The figure hit a record high point of 4 percent last year.
■FINANCE
SEC looks to freeze assets
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is seeking to permanently freeze the assets of a Taiwanese immigrant financier accused of bilking investors until his fraud trial is over. Judge Philip Gutierrez said on Monday that he would rule next week on the request concerning the assets of Danny Pang (彭日成), who is accused of bilking investors in his Private Equity Management Group companies. Gutierrez temporarily froze Pang’s assets in April, when he also ordered the California financier to repatriate any assets sent overseas and turn over his passports.
■FINANCE
China mulls new company
China is weighing a plan to set up a new company to manage some of the country’s nearly 18 trillion yuan (US$2.6 billion) in state assets, a report said yesterday. The state-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission has been working to establish an asset management company since 2005, the state-run China Daily reported, citing director Li Rongrong (李榮融). Li also warned many state-owned enterprises were not qualified to make overseas acquisitions and would have to improve their corporate governance. The commission currently oversees 138 state companies.
■AUTOMOBILES
Qatarmakes Porsche offer
Qatar has offered to invest in debt-laden German sports car maker Porsche and to buy stock options it holds in Volkswagen, a Porsche spokesman said. “We have received an offer from Qatar for the acquisition of a participation and a purchase of options on Volkswagen shares,” he said late on Monday. The offer would serve as a basis for further talks, but must be examined by the Porsche and Piech families, who own all of the voting rights in Porsche, he added.
■INTERNET
Small firm buys Pirate Bay
A small Swedish software firm announced yesterday that it had purchased Pirate Bay, the popular file-sharing Web site, for 60 million kronor (US$7.8 million). Global Gaming Factory X said the deal would include rights to use the Pirate Bay domain name and accompanying Web sites. The acquisition is expected to be completed in August, the firm said. Pirate Bay is one of the world’s largest file-sharing venues, with more than 20 million users worldwide. In April, four men connected with the site were sentenced to one-year prison sentences for violations of copyright law.
CARROT AND STICK: While unrelenting in its military threats, China attracted nearly 40,000 Taiwanese to over 400 business events last year Nearly 40,000 Taiwanese last year joined industry events in China, such as conferences and trade fairs, supported by the Chinese government, a study showed yesterday, as Beijing ramps up a charm offensive toward Taipei alongside military pressure. China has long taken a carrot-and-stick approach to Taiwan, threatening it with the prospect of military action while reaching out to those it believes are amenable to Beijing’s point of view. Taiwanese security officials are wary of what they see as Beijing’s influence campaigns to sway public opinion after Taipei and Beijing gradually resumed travel links halted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the scale of
TRADE: A mandatory declaration of origin for manufactured goods bound for the US is to take effect on May 7 to block China from exploiting Taiwan’s trade channels All products manufactured in Taiwan and exported to the US must include a signed declaration of origin starting on May 7, the Bureau of Foreign Trade announced yesterday. US President Donald Trump on April 2 imposed a 32 percent tariff on imports from Taiwan, but one week later announced a 90-day pause on its implementation. However, a universal 10 percent tariff was immediately applied to most imports from around the world. On April 12, the Trump administration further exempted computers, smartphones and semiconductors from the new tariffs. In response, President William Lai’s (賴清德) administration has introduced a series of countermeasures to support affected
Pope Francis is be laid to rest on Saturday after lying in state for three days in St Peter’s Basilica, where the faithful are expected to flock to pay their respects to history’s first Latin American pontiff. The cardinals met yesterday in the Vatican’s synod hall to chart the next steps before a conclave begins to choose Francis’ successor, as condolences poured in from around the world. According to current norms, the conclave must begin between May 5 and 10. The cardinals set the funeral for Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square, to be celebrated by the dean of the College
CROSS-STRAIT: The vast majority of Taiwanese support maintaining the ‘status quo,’ while concern is rising about Beijing’s influence operations More than eight out of 10 Taiwanese reject Beijing’s “one country, two systems” framework for cross-strait relations, according to a survey released by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Thursday. The MAC’s latest quarterly survey found that 84.4 percent of respondents opposed Beijing’s “one country, two systems” formula for handling cross-strait relations — a figure consistent with past polling. Over the past three years, opposition to the framework has remained high, ranging from a low of 83.6 percent in April 2023 to a peak of 89.6 percent in April last year. In the most recent poll, 82.5 percent also rejected China’s
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