■ FINANCE
Greenspan joins hedge fund
Former US Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan is joining the hedge fund Paulson & Co as an adviser, the New York-based company said on Tuesday. Headed by John Paulson, the company said in a statement that the contract was exclusive, barring Greenspan from advising any other investment fund. Greenspan in recent months has signed similar agreements with Pacific Investment Management Corp, a bond specialist, and with the German banking giant Deutsche Bank.
■ AUTOMOBILES
Ex-Mitsubishi chief guilty
A former Mitsubishi president was convicted of professional negligence yesterday in a fatal head-on crash that followed a systematic cover-up of auto defects at the Japanese automaker. Former Mitsubishi Motors Corp president Katsuhiko Kawasoe was sentenced to three years in prison suspended for five years, a Yokohama District Court official said on customary condition of anonymity. The suspended sentence means he won't have to serve time. Kawasoe and three other company officials were suspected of failing to report defects although they knew the problems could cause serious accidents. They were charged in 2004 with professional negligence resulting in death in a 2002 accident in southwestern Japan in which a driver died in a crash after the brakes failed on his Mitsubishi vehicle.
■ MORTGAGES
UK lender rejects proposal
Shareholders in Northern Rock, the ailing British mortgage lender, voted at a special meeting on Tuesday against proposals by two hedge funds that would have forced managers to seek shareholder approval for even small asset sales. The vote was a setback for the fund companies RAB Capital and SRM Global Advisers, two of Northern Rock's largest shareholders, which had hoped to obtain greater influence in the bank's future and keep it from selling assets at "knockdown fire sale prices."
■ INVESTMENTS
PRC sets up Africa fund
A Beijing-backed equity fund that aims to boost Sino-African ties has signed a first batch of investment deals worth more than US$90 million, the China Securities Journal said yesterday. The China Africa Development Fund would invest a total of US$4 billion in Sinosteel and three other Chinese companies with projects in Africa, the report said. They include a glass plant in Ethiopia with an annual production of 40,000 tonnes, a 200,000kw gas-fired power plant in Ghana, a chromite project in Zimbabwe and a building material project, it said. The fund was launched in June and had received US$1 billion from the China Development Bank.
■ METALS
Rio Tinto has record output
Anglo-Australian mining giant Rio Tinto said yesterday its iron ore output last year hit a record 179 million tonnes, up 9 percent on the previous year. The world's third-largest mining company, currently fighting off a takeover bid by rival BHP Billiton, said the increase in iron ore production reflected strong demand from major customers. The company said in its fourth-quarter production report it also saw strong demand in other commodities and expects its iron ore output to increase further this year as new capacity comes on stream.
SLOW-MOVING STORM: The typhoon has started moving north, but at a very slow pace, adding uncertainty to the extent of its impact on the nation Work and classes have been canceled across the nation today because of Typhoon Krathon, with residents in the south advised to brace for winds that could reach force 17 on the Beaufort scale as the Central Weather Administration (CWA) forecast that the storm would make landfall there. Force 17 wind with speeds of 56.1 to 61.2 meters per second, the highest number on the Beaufort scale, rarely occur and could cause serious damage. Krathon could be the second typhoon to land in southwestern Taiwan, following typhoon Elsie in 1996, CWA records showed. As of 8pm yesterday, the typhoon’s center was 180km
STILL DANGEROUS: The typhoon was expected to weaken, but it would still maintain its structure, with high winds and heavy rain, the weather agency said One person had died amid heavy winds and rain brought by Typhoon Krathon, while 70 were injured and two people were unaccounted for, the Central Emergency Operation Center said yesterday, while work and classes have been canceled nationwide today for the second day. The Hualien County Fire Department said that a man in his 70s had fallen to his death at about 11am on Tuesday while trimming a tree at his home in Shoufeng Township (壽豐). Meanwhile, the Yunlin County Fire Department received a report of a person falling into the sea at about 1pm on Tuesday, but had to suspend search-and-rescue
RULES BROKEN: The MAC warned Chinese not to say anything that would be harmful to the autonomous status of Taiwan or undermine its sovereignty A Chinese couple accused of disrupting a pro-democracy event in Taipei organized by Hong Kong residents has been deported, the National Immigration Agency said in a statement yesterday afternoon. A Chinese man, surnamed Yao (姚), and his wife were escorted by immigration officials to Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, where they boarded a flight to China before noon yesterday, the agency said. The agency said that it had annulled the couple’s entry permits, citing alleged contraventions of the Regulations Governing the Approval of Entry of People of the Mainland Area into the Taiwan Area (大陸地區人民進入台灣地區許可辦法). The couple applied to visit a family member in
CELEBRATION: The PRC turned 75 on Oct. 1, but the Republic of China is older. The PRC could never be the homeland of the people of the ROC, Lai said The People’s Republic of China (PRC) could not be the “motherland” of the people of the Republic of China (ROC), President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday. Lai made the remarks in a speech at a Double Ten National Day gala in Taipei, which is part of National Day celebrations that are to culminate in a fireworks display in Yunlin County on Thursday night next week. Lai wished the country a happy birthday and called on attendees to enjoy the performances and activities while keeping in mind that the ROC is a sovereign and independent nation. He appealed for everyone to always love their