■BANKING
Credit Suisse earnings soar
Swiss banking giant Credit Suisse yesterday said its second-quarter earnings soared 29 percent to 1.571 billion Swiss francs (US$1.47 billion), adding that it was well positioned to “perform well” even if the economic environment were to worsen. The earnings marked a second consecutive quarter of profits made by the bank as it recovers from a full-year loss of SF8.2 billion last year. The bank’s chief executive Brady Dougan said the global economic climate was expected to “remain challenging and uneven business conditions” should persist.
■AUTOMOBILES
BAIC out of Opel race
General Motors Europe said yesterday it was no longer talking to China’s Beijing Automotive Industry Holding (BAIC, 北京汽車工業) about it acquiring Opel, leaving just two bidders: Magna and RHJ International. “We had a good and thoughtful discussion around the key operating metrics and key issues associated with the three final offers we received on Monday evening,” said John Smith, GM’s chief negotiator for the sale of Opel. “We have agreed to continue detailed talks with both Magna and RHJI to secure Opel’s future.”
■INTERNET
Amazon buying Zappos
Online retail giant Amazon said on Wednesday that it was purchasing Internet shoe shop Zappos.com in a stock and cash deal valued at nearly US$850 million. Amazon said it expects the transaction to be complete by the end of this year. Zappos was founded in 1999 and gained fans with free shipping of shoe buys and a liberal return policy. Under the terms of the deal, Amazon will get all shares of Zappos stock in exchange for 10 million shares of Amazon stock valued at US$807 million based on an average of share prices in the 45 days ending on July 17.
■INTERNET
Yahoo to buy Xoopit
Yahoo said on Wednesday it would buy Xoopit, a San Francisco startup specializing in finding and organizing photos buried in e-mail inboxes. “In short, Xoopit will bring phenomenal photo organization, improved photo sharing, and the serendipity of discovering forgotten photos to Yahoo Mail,” Yahoo Applications senior vice president Bryan Lamkin said in an online post. Xoopit-driven “My Photos” has become the third-most popular application at Yahoo Mail since it was added at the end of last year, Lamkin said.
■AUTOMAKERS
Hyundai posts record profit
South Korea’s largest automaker, Hyundai Motor, yesterday reported its highest-ever quarterly net profit, despite the global economic downturn. Hyundai said net profit in April-June was 811.8 billion won (US$648.4 million), a 48 percent rise on 546.9 billion won for the same period last year. Operating profit fell 0.8 percent year-on-year to 657.3 billion won from 662.5 billion on higher marketing costs and lower exports. Declining exports dragged sales down 11 percent to 8.08 trillion won from 9.107 trillion won.
■BEVERAGES
Kirin plans Suntory merger
Japanese drinks giant Kirin wants to seal a merger with smaller rival Suntory as soon as possible to create a top industry player in Asia, Kirin’s president said in an interview published yesterday. “We aim to be a leading company in Asia and Oceania,” Kirin Holdings Co president Kazuyasu Kato told the Nikkei economic daily. Kato said the two companies would proceed with “the spirit of equal partners.”
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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