■METALS
Iron ore prices deadlocked
Australian producers and Chinese buyers missed a deadline to set benchmark iron ore prices yesterday, jeopardizing a 42-year-old system and risking new friction between the key trading partners. Anglo-Australian mining giant Rio Tinto, which spearheaded the negotiations, refused to comment on whether talks would continue after the overnight deadline expired but said its customers were free to buy at spot prices. Talks had deadlocked on Chinese demands for deeper cuts than the 33 percent to 44 percent negotiated with Japan and South Korea on the benchmark.
■CHINA
Manufacturing output rises
Chinese manufacturing expanded last month, adding to signs the world’s third-largest economy is rebounding from the collapse in global trade, but few new jobs were created, two surveys released yesterday showed. Brokerage CLSA Asia-Pacific Markets said China’s purchasing managers index rose to 51.8 from May’s 51.2 on a 100-point scale where numbers above 50 show activity expanding. The state-sanctioned China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing said its own PMI edged up slightly to 53.2 from May’s 53.1.
■RETAIL
Carrefour to cut costs
French retail giant Carrefour unveiled a new plan on Tuesday to cut costs by 4.5 billion euros (US$6.3 billion) by 2012 following a plunge in profits last year. Carrefour CEO Lars Oloffson announced the new measures, saying they would help boost growth and improve margins. The plan will concern mainly Belgium, France, Italy and Spain, Oloffson said, adding that he would aim not to cut jobs. Carrefour saw net profits plunge 44.7 percent last year as a result of food price spikes last year and the start of the economic crisis.
■RETAIL
M&S reports sales drop
UK retailer Marks & Spencer reported a smaller-than-expected drop in first-quarter underlying sales as executive chairman Stuart Rose insisted he was “not concerned” by a growing row over his succession. The 125-year-old group, which sells clothes, housewares and food from more than 600 stores in the UK and about 285 abroad, said it remained cautious, although there were positive signs on consumer sentiment. “Consumer confidence appears to be stabilizing. However, we remain cautious about the outlook for the remainder of this and next year,” Rose said.
■AUTOMOBILES
Fitch lowers Toyota ratings
Fitch Ratings yesterday downgraded its credit rating on Toyota Motor Corp for the second time in seven months, saying it had been slower than its rivals to respond to the industry crisis. Fitch lowered its long-term debt rating on Toyota by two notches, from “AA” to “A-plus.” “It may take several years for Toyota to approach previous levels of profitability, unless it takes swift actions to reduce costs and restructure its production facilities and product portfolio,” Fitch analyst Jeong Min Pak said.
■AVIATION
ANA raises Boeing order
Japan’s All Nippon Airways (ANA) said yesterday that it had increased its order for US aviation giant Boeing’s troubled 787 Dreamliner to 55 aircraft, up from 50 previously. ANA was the launch customer for the next-generation 787 Dreamliner, which has been beset by a series of delays. Boeing last month delayed the first flight and delivery of its 787 Dreamliner for the fifth time.
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
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
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
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
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