■INSURANCE
Aviva turns profit
Aviva made a net profit of £747 million (US$1.3 billion) in the first half of the year after a loss a year earlier, the British insurance giant said yesterday. “In a challenging economic environment Aviva has returned to profit,” Aviva chief executive Andrew Moss said in the company’s results statement. “Life and pensions margins have improved, the general insurance business has beaten our targets and our regulatory capital position has strengthened significantly.”
■CONSUMER PRODUCTS
Unilever profit falls
Unilever NV PLC, the maker of Dove soap, Lipton tea and Ben & Jerry’s ice cream, said yesterday profit fell 17 percent in the second quarter as its profit margins eroded amid the economic downturn. Net profit at the consumer products giant was 758 million euros (US$1.09 billion) in the quarter, down from 909 million euros in the same period a year earlier, while sales rose 1 percent to 10.5 billion euros. “While conditions remain difficult in many markets, I am encouraged by the return to volume growth across all regions,” chief executive Paul Polman said in a statement.
■TELECOMS
German firm’s profits rise
German telecommunications group Deutsche Telekom posted a solid jump in its second quarter net profit yesterday as it integrated a recent Greek acquisition and confirmed its full-year targets. Deutsche Telekom recorded a 32 percent hike in profit to 521 million euros (US$750 million) on sales that increased by 7.4 percent to 16.24 billion euros. Core earnings that the telecoms operator uses in its forecast rose by 8.4 percent from the same period a year earlier to 5.26 billion euros, slightly better than expected, a statement said.
■MEDIA
News Corp loses US$203m
News Corp said on Wednesday it lost US$203 million in the latest quarter due to a huge writedown at MySpace. Despite the loss, the sprawling New York-based media company that owns the Wall Street Journal, the Fox broadcast network, Sky Italia and newspapers in Britain and Australia said the economy was slowly turning around and predicted revenue growth in the current fiscal year. “Advertising markets, while weak and particularly hurt by the slump in cars and finance, have shown some good signs of life,” chairman and chief executive Rupert Murdoch said on a conference call.
■AUSTRALIA
Unemployment holds steady
The unemployment rate held steady at 5.8 percent last month, official figures showed yesterday, beating analyst forecasts as the jobs market showed unexpected resilience. Australian Bureau of Statistics data showed the loss of 16,000 full-time positions was offset by 48,200 new part-time positions, defying economists’ predictions of a rise to 6 percent. “This a certainly a major surprise,” Craig James, chief economist with stockbroker Commsec, told Sky News, adding employers seemed to be hiring again as hopes rise that the worst of the financial crisis is over.
■COMPUTERS
Cisco earnings drop 46%
Cisco Systems Inc said earnings fell 46 percent in its latest quarter and the company said the quarter may have been the bottom of the recession-related downturn. CEO John Chambers said he expects a slight increase in revenue in the current quarter compared with the just-ended one.
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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