■BANKING
Banks lobby against reform
The world’s biggest banks are urging the EU and US to back down on threats to clamp down on their industry, which they insist will damage consumers and investors, and hinder plans for an international approach through the G20. In a letter to US Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner and EU Markets Commissioner Michel Barnier, the bankers warn of their concerns “that the US and EU are pursuing regulatory reforms in a manner that could conflict with G20 reform commitments, potentially resulting in a fragmented transatlantic capital market to the detriment of consumers, investors and other market participants.” The banks are particularly concerned about the US plans for the Volcker rule, intended to stop banks engaging in risky trading activities, and Europe’s planned curbs on hedge funds.
■AVIATION
Ash cloud closes airspace
Airspace above France, Italy and Portugal was closed yesterday and dozens of flights canceled because of an ash cloud drifting over from a volcano in Iceland that caused air travel chaos last month. French authorities said the cloud forced the suspension of about 20 flights at the airport in Nice and all flights to the city of Porto in northern Portugal were suspended until 2pm yesterday, airport officials there said. Most of the affected planes were from British company easyJet and included flights to or from Paris, London, Geneva and other major European centers, airport officials said.
■AUTOMOBILES
Toyota to post US$1bn profit
Japan’s embattled auto giant Toyota will likely post an operating profit of about US$1 billion for the year to March despite worldwide safety recalls, a local newspaper reported yesterday. Toyota, which is to release its annual results tomorrow, may report an operating profit of up to ¥100 billion (US$1.09 billion), the Yomiuri Shimbum reported, without citing sources. The world’s top automaker posted a net loss of US$4.4 billion in the year to March of last year, the first time ever it had sunk into the red, as global auto sales collapsed during the recession.
■MINING
Striking workers block mine
Some 3,000 workers blocked road access to the Collahuasi copper mine in northern Chile on Saturday, lowering production and clashing with police, workers and mining officials said. The workers were seeking better wages and conditions at their on-site living quarters and were prepared to prolong their strike — begun on Friday — “indefinitely,” strike leader Victor Reyes told Radio Cooperativa. Managed by Xtrata and Anglo America, Collahuasi said it was open to dialogue with the strikers, calling their action “unnecessary” in a statement. It said production at the mine continued, albeit “under restricted conditions.”
■AUSTRALIA
Deficit forecast shrinks
Australia’s budget deficit will be smaller than previously forecast, Australian Treasurer Wayne Swan said yesterday, adding that the country’s economy was in a good position to withstand any global shocks. Swan, who releases the national budget tomorrow, would not give an exact figure on the deficit, which 12 months ago was forecast to be a record A$57.6 billion (US$51.2 billion) for 2009-2010. “Certainly the deficit will be less than we were forecasting a year ago,” he told commercial television, adding that the global downturn was still having a lingering impact on the economy.
CLOSURES: Several forest recreation areas have been closed as a precaution, while some ferry and flight services have been suspended or rescheduled A land warning for Tropical Storm Danas was issued last night at 8:30pm, as the storm’s outer bands began bringing heavy rain to southeastern regions, including Hualien and Taitung counties, and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春半島), according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA). As of 9:15pm, the storm was approximately 330km west-southwest of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost tip, moving north-northeast at 10-20kph, the CWA reported. A sea warning had already been issued at 8:30am yesterday. The storm had maximum sustained winds near its center of 83kph, with gusts of up to 108kph, according to the CWA. As of 9:30pm last night, Kaohsiung, Tainan,
POWERFUL DETERRENT: Precision fire and dispersed deployment of units would allow Taiwanese artillery to inflict heavy casualties in an invasion, a researcher said The nation’s military has boosted its self-defense capability with the establishment of a new company equipped with the US-supplied High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS). The company, part of the army’s 58th Artillery Command, is Taiwan’s first HIMARS unit. Minister of National Defense Wellington Koo (顧立雄), who presided over the formation ceremony in Taichung on Friday, called the unit a significant addition to the nation’s defensive strength, saying it would help deter adversaries from starting a war. The unit is made up of top-performing soldiers who received training in the US, according to the Ministry of National Defense. The HIMARS can be equipped with
STRONG WINDS: Without the Central Mountain Range as a shield, people should be ready for high-speed winds, CWA weather forecaster Liu Yu-chi said Danas was yesterday upgraded to a typhoon and could grow stronger as it moves closely along the nation’s west coastline, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Hsinchu and Chiayi cities, Taichung, Tainan and Kaohsiung, as well as Hsinchu, Miaoli, Changhua, Yunlin, Nantou, Chiayi, Penghu and Pingtung counties have canceled work and school today. Work and school in Keelung, Taipei, New Taipei City and Taoyuan, and Yilan, Taitung, Hualien, Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties would continue as usual, although offices and schools would be closed in Taoyuan’s Luju (蘆竹), Dayuan (大園), Guangyin (觀音) and Sinwu (新屋) districts. As of 5pm yesterday, the typhoon’s
UNILATERAL: The move from China’s aviation authority comes despite a previous 2015 agreement that any changes to flight paths would be done by consensus The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) yesterday slammed Beijing for arbitrarily opening the M503 flight route’s W121 connecting path, saying that such unilateral conduct disrespected the consensus between both sides and could destabilize the Taiwan Strait and the wider region. The condemnation came after the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) earlier yesterday announced it “has activated the W121 connecting path of the M503 flight route,” meaning that west-to-east flights are now permitted along the path. The newly activated west-to-east route is intended to “alleviate the pressure caused by the increase of flights,” China’s state-run Xinhua news agency quoted China’s Taiwan Affairs Office
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