■BANKING
French bank’s profits rise
Societe Generale SA, France’s second-largest bank, said yesterday that net profit more than doubled in the third quarter after better market conditions helped earnings at its investment banking unit. SocGen said in a statement that it made a net profit of 426 million euros (US$627 million) in the July to September period, compared with 183 million euros a year earlier. The results were slightly lower than the consensus forecast. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters had predicted a net profit of 457 million euros.
■AUTOMOBILES
Nissan’s profit plummets
Nissan Motor said yesterday its first-half net profit plunged 92.9 percent from a year earlier due to weak sales, but it narrowed its full-year loss forecast. Japan’s No. 3 automaker, in which France’s Renault has a 44 percent stake, said it performed better than expected thanks to brisk growth in China and government incentives for people to buy new cars during the recession. Nissan logged a net profit of ¥9 billion (US$100 million) for the six months to September, against a profit of ¥126.3 billion in the same period a year earlier.
■APPAREL
Adidas profits drop 30%
German sportwear and equipment maker Adidas said yesterday that its net profit fell by 30 percent to 213 million euros in the third quarter of this year. The result was in line with forecasts and demonstrated the tough conditions faced by retailers, with Adidas adding that it expected a decline in income for the year as a whole. Sales for the three-month period slipped by 6 percent to 2.89 billion euros, a statement said, though when corrected for foreign exchange effects the figure showed an increase of 7 percent.
■RETAIL
M&S half-year profits rise
British retailer Marks and Spencer (M&S) said yesterday that net profits rose by half a percent to £224.3 million (US$369 million) during the first six months of its financial year. The company said its profit after tax figure for the six months to the end of September compared with a net gain of £223.2 million a year earlier. Pre-tax profits dipped slightly to £306.7 million in the first half while group revenue rose 2.8 percent to £4.3 billion.
■ICELAND
Keep controls, IMF says
The IMF has recommended Reykjavik maintain currency controls for the time being in order to ensure a stable currency, a report released on Tuesday said. The Icelandic central bank published the 98-page report containing the IMF recommendations and an assessment of Iceland’s economy. A year ago the global financial crisis sparked the collapse of three of the nation’s major banks and a rapid depreciation of the krona. It was later granted a US$2.1 billion emergency loan by the IMF.
■ELECTRONICS
Peek offers Twitter gadget
A US maker of mobile devices is offering a gadget solely dedicated to sending and receiving Twitter messages. The “TwitterPeek,” made by New York-based Peek, costs US$100 with six months of service or US$200 for a lifetime service plan. Peek called the TwitterPeek “the world’s first dedicated Twitter mobile device.” The device resembles a BlackBerry smartphone with a full-color screen for viewing messages and a keyboard for typing them.
‘CROWN JEWEL’: Washington ‘can delay and deter’ Chinese President Xi Jinping’s plans for Taiwan, but it is ‘a very delicate situation there,’ the secretary of state said US President Donald Trump is opposed to any change to Taiwan’s “status quo” by force or extortion and would maintain that policy, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told the Hugh Hewitt Show host on Wednesday. The US’ policy is to maintain Taiwan’s “status quo” and to oppose any changes in the situation by force or extortion, Rubio said. Hewitt asked Rubio about the significance of Trump earlier this month speaking with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電) chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家) at the White House, a meeting that Hewitt described as a “big deal.” Asked whether the meeting was an indication of the
‘RELATIVELY STRONG LANGUAGE’: An expert said the state department has not softened its language on China and was ‘probably a little more Taiwan supportive’ China’s latest drills near Taiwan on Monday were “brazen and irresponsible threats,” a US Department of State spokesperson said on Tuesday, while reiterating Washington’s decades-long support of Taipei. “China cannot credibly claim to be a ‘force for stability in a turbulent world’ while issuing brazen and irresponsible threats toward Taiwan,” the unnamed spokesperson said in an e-mailed response to media queries. Washington’s enduring commitment to Taiwan will continue as it has for 45 years and the US “will continue to support Taiwan in the face of China’s military, economic, informational and diplomatic pressure campaign,” the e-mail said. “Alongside our international partners, we firmly
KAOHSIUNG CEREMONY: The contract chipmaker is planning to build 5 fabs in the southern city to gradually expand its 2-nanometer chip capacity Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s biggest contract chipmaker, yesterday confirmed that it plans to hold a ceremony on March 31 to unveil a capacity expansion plan for its most advanced 2-nanometer chips in Kaohsiung, demonstrating its commitment to further investment at home. The ceremony is to be hosted by TSMC cochief operating officer Y.P. Chyn (秦永沛). It did not disclose whether Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) and high-ranking government officials would attend the ceremony. More details are to be released next week, it said. The chipmaker’s latest move came after its announcement earlier this month of an additional US$100 billion
Authorities yesterday elaborated on the rules governing Employment Gold Cards after a US cardholder was barred from entering Taiwan for six years after working without a permit during a 2023 visit. American YouTuber LeLe Farley was barred after already being approved for an Employment Gold Card, he said in a video published on his channel on Saturday. Farley, who has more than 420,000 subscribers on his YouTube channel, was approved for his Gold Card last month, but was told at a check-in counter at the Los Angeles International Airport that he could not enter Taiwan. That was because he previously participated in two
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