■EUROPE
PMI slips in eurozone
Heavy snow and bitter cold across the eurozone this month stunted growth in private sector business activity, for the first time in 11 months, a well-watched survey said yesterday. The purchasing managers’ index (PMI) for the 16 countries using the single currency, compiled by data and research group Markit, slipped to 53.6 points from 54.2 points last month, signaling weakened expansion. Growth was strongest in manufacturing, with its sixth monthly increase in a row, but the rate of growth in the services sector slowed for the first time after five consecutive months of expansion, albeit still above the boom-and-bust 50-point line.
■SOUTH KOREA
Jobs target increases
South Korea said yesterday it aims to create more than 250,000 new jobs this year because the employment market remains fragile despite a growing economic recovery. The figure is higher than an earlier target of 200,000, the government said in a statement after a meeting of economy-related ministries. About 890,000 people were officially listed as jobless at the end of last year. However, the government estimates the actual number at 1.82 million, including people with only temporary jobs and others who are not actively looking for work.
■BANKING
BoA posts US$194m loss
Bank of America (BoA), the largest US bank by assets, posted a loss of US$194 million in the fourth quarter of last year, but repayments of government aid boosted the loss for shareholders to US$5.2 billion. For all of last year, the bank listed a profit of US$6.3 billion, but for shareholders the results were a loss of US$2.2 billion. Morgan Stanley meanwhile reported a profit of US$617 million in the fourth quarter. For all of last year, the bank said profit was US$1.346 billion, but shareholders suffered a loss of US$907 million. Wells Fargo, posted net income of US$2.82 billion in the fourth quarter. For the full year, it had net profit of US$7.99 billion.
■EXCHANGES
LSE posts 9% revenue drop
Equities market operator the London Stock Exchange Group (LSE) yesterday reported a 9 percent fall in quarterly revenues owing to a drop in transactions amid increased competition. The LSE, which operates the London Stock Exchange and Italy’s Borsa Italiana, said total group revenue fell to £154.9 million (US$251 million) in the three months to Dec. 31 — the company’s third quarter — compared to a year earlier. “Market conditions have not been easy in the last quarter, particularly in cash equities, though the group has benefited from the breadth of its activities,” LSE chief executive Xavier Rolet said in a trading update.
■SOUTH KOREA
Hynix swings to profit
South Korea’s Hynix Semiconductor said yesterday it swung to a net profit in the fourth quarter, following a loss in the period the year earlier, in a further sign that the global chip industry is recovering from a two-year slump. Hynix, the world’s second-largest memory chip maker, reported net profit of 657 billion won (US$577 million) in the October-to-December period, against a net loss of 1.69 trillion won in the fourth quarter of 2008. It was the second straight quarter of net profits after losses for seven consecutive quarters.
UPDATED (3:40pm): A suspected gas explosion at a shopping mall in Taichung this morning has killed four people and injured 20 others, as emergency responders continue to investigate. The explosion occurred on the 12th floor of the Shin Kong Mitsukoshi in Situn District (西屯) at 11:33am. One person was declared dead at the scene, while three people were declared deceased later after receiving emergency treatment. Another 20 people sustained major or minor injuries. The Taichung Fire Bureau said it received a report of the explosion at 11:33am and sent rescuers to respond. The cause of the explosion is still under investigation, it said. The National Fire
ACCOUNTABILITY: The incident, which occured at a Shin Kong Mitsukoshi Department Store in Taichung, was allegedly caused by a gas explosion on the 12th floor Shin Kong Group (新光集團) president Richard Wu (吳昕陽) yesterday said the company would take responsibility for an apparent gas explosion that resulted in four deaths and 26 injuries at Shin Kong Mitsukoshi Zhonggang Store in Taichung yesterday. The Taichung Fire Bureau at 11:33am yesterday received a report saying that people were injured after an explosion at the department store on Section 3 of Taiwan Boulevard in Taichung’s Situn District (西屯). It sent 56 ambulances and 136 paramedics to the site, with the people injured sent to Cheng Ching Hospital’s Chung Kang Branch, Wuri Lin Shin Hospital, Taichung Veterans General Hospital or Chung
ALL-IN-ONE: A company in Tainan and another in New Taipei City offer tours to China during which Taiwanese can apply for a Chinese ID card, the source said The National Immigration Agency and national security authorities have identified at least five companies that help Taiwanese apply for Chinese identification cards while traveling in China, a source said yesterday. The issue has garnered attention in the past few months after YouTuber “Pa Chiung” (八炯) said that there are companies in Taiwan that help Taiwanese apply for Chinese documents. Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) last week said that three to five public relations firms in southern and northern Taiwan have allegedly assisted Taiwanese in applying for Chinese ID cards and were under investigation for potential contraventions of the Act Governing
‘LAWFUL USE’: The last time a US warship transited the Taiwan Strait was on Oct. 20 last year, and this week’s transit is the first of US President Donald Trump’s second term Two US military vessels transited the Taiwan Strait from Sunday through early yesterday, the Ministry of National Defense said in a statement, the first such mission since US President Donald Trump took office last month. The two vessels sailed south through the Strait, the ministry said, adding that it closely monitored nearby airspace and waters at the time and observed nothing unusual. The ministry did not name the two vessels, but the US Navy identified them as the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Ralph Johnson and the Pathfinder-class survey ship USNS Bowditch. The ships carried out a north-to-south transit from