■RECESSION
IMF: downturn might slow
The global economic meltdown may be starting to abate, and recovery could emerge next year if countries act together and immediately adopt policies aimed at ending the recession, the head of the IMF said on Thursday. “The fact that the current downturn is highly synchronized and associated with deep financial crises suggests that it is likely to be persistent, with a weaker-than-average recovery,” the IMF said in the analytical chapters to its semiannual World Economic Outlook released in advance of the report’s publication next week.
■GAMING
Mirage may file bankruptcy
Billionaire Carl Icahn and an investment fund believe MGM Mirage Inc should file for bankruptcy, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday. They want the Las Vegas-based casino operator to restructure its more than US$13 billion in debt as soon as possible. MGM Mirage spokesman Alan Feldman said the company had productive discussions with its lenders and declined to comment further.
■MINING
Diamond output halved
Botswana, the world’s largest diamond producer, will slash its output by more than half this year because of plummeting demand for the gems, the main diamond company announced yesterday. Debswana, jointly owned by the Botswana government and De Beers, said in a statement that the country was going to produce 15 million carats of diamonds this year against 33 million carats last year. The mining industry in Botswana has cut 4,500 jobs as global demand for the precious stones has plummeted.
■RETAIL
Biggest mall owner bankrupt
General Growth Properties Inc, the second-largest US mall owner, declared bankruptcy on Thursday in the biggest real estate failure in US history. Ending months of speculation, General Growth, along with 158 of its 200-plus US malls, filed Chapter 11 while it tries to refinance its debts. The company received approval on Thursday from federal bankruptcy Judge Allan Gropper to use its cash collateral to operate its businesses during bankruptcy. Chicago-based General Growth owns such valuable properties as South Street Seaport in New York, Fashion Show in Las Vegas and Faneuil Hall Marketplace in Boston.
■INSURANCE
AIG to sell car business
Insurer American International Group Inc (AIG) said Thursday it will sell its car insurance unit, 21st Century Insurance, to Zurich Financial Services Group for US$1.9 billion. Under terms of the agreement, Zurich’s Los Angeles-based insurer Farmers Group will pay US$1.5 billion in cash and US$400 million in subordinated, euro-dominated capital notes backed by Zurich Insurance Company, AIG said.
■AUTOMOBILES
Volkswagen sales plummet
German auto maker Volkswagen (VW) is likely to suffer a 10 percent slide in sales in the first quarter in a global auto market that is 20 percent weaker, a member of VW’s board of directors said on Thursday. “We are going to have a world market that is down about at least 20 percent and we will be down about 10 percent in the first quarter,” said Christian Klinger. VW chairman Martin Winterkorn said there was some uncertainty as to whether VW’s first quarter earnings would turn out negative or positive.
TECH EFFECT: While Chiayi County was the oldest region in the nation, Hsinchu county and city, home of the nation’s chip industry, were the youngest, the report showed Seven of the nation’s administrative regions, encompassing 57.2 percent of Taiwan’s townships and villages, became “super-aged societies” in June, the Ministry of the Interior said in its latest report. A region is considered super-aged if 20 percent of the population is aged 65 or older. The ministry report showed that Taiwan had 4,391,744 people aged 65 or older as of June, representing 18.76 percent of the total population and an increase of 1,024,425 people compared with August 2018. In June, the nation’s elderly dependency ratio was 27.3 senior citizens per 100 working-aged people, an increase of 7.39 people over August 2018, it said. That
‘UNITED FRONT’: The married couple allegedly produced talk show videos for platforms such as Facebook and YouTube to influence Taiwan’s politics A husband and wife affiliated with the China Unification Promotion Party (CUPP) were indicted yesterday for allegedly receiving NT$74 million (US$2.32 million) from China to make radio and digital media propaganda to promote the Chinese government’s political agenda and influence the outcome of Taiwan’s elections. Chang Meng-chung (張孟崇) and his wife, Hung Wen-ting (洪文婷), allegedly received a total of NT$74 million from China between 2021 and last year to promote candidates favored by Beijing, contravening the Anti-Infiltration Act (反滲透法) and election laws, the Chiayi District Prosecutors’ Office said. The couple acted as Beijing’s propaganda mouthpiece by disparaging Hong Kong democracy activists
EARLY ARRIVALS: The first sets of HIMARS purchased from the US arrived ahead of their scheduled delivery, with troops already training on the platforms, a source said The Ministry of National Defense (MND) yesterday said it spotted 35 Chinese military aircraft, including fighters and bombers, flying to the south of Taiwan proper on the way to exercises in the Pacific, a second consecutive day it has reported such activities. The Chinese Ministry of National Defense did not respond to a request for comment on the missions, reported just days before tomorrow’s US presidential election. The US is bound by law to provide Taiwan with the means to defend itself. Its arms sales to Taipei include a US$2 billion missile system announced last month. The MND said that from 9am yesterday,
A Control Yuan member yesterday said he would initiate an investigation into why the number of foreign nationals injured or killed in traffic incidents has nearly doubled in the past few years, and whether government agencies’ mechanisms were ineffective in ensuring road safety. Control Yuan member Yeh Ta-hua (葉大華) said in a news release that Taiwan has been described as a “living hell for pedestrians” and traffic safety has become an important national security issue. According to a National Audit Office report released last year, more than 780,000 foreign nationals were legally residing in Taiwan in 2019, which grew to more than
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