■CRIME
Danny Pang allowed bail
A US federal magistrate has ruled that California-based financier Danny Pang (彭日成) can be released on US$1 million bail following his arrest on a complaint alleging he evaded currency reporting laws. The Securities and Exchange Commission filed a lawsuit last week against Pang and the company he founded, Private Management Group, accusing him of bilking investors by falsely portraying returns as coming from investments when the money instead came from a pyramid scheme.
■ELECTRONICS
Fujitsu announces losses
Japan’s Fujitsu Ltd said yesterday it suffered a ¥112.4 billion (US$1.15 billion) net loss for the business year through March due to the global economic crisis. The loss, which compares with a ¥48.1 billion profit a year earlier, was more than twice as big as the company’s own forecast. In addition to weak sales, restructuring costs weighed heavily on the bottom line. The company expects to return to the black in the current business year, projecting a net profit of ¥20 billion, an operating profit of ¥80 billion and revenue of ¥4.8 trillion.
■TELECOMS
Softbank makes record profit
Japanese Internet and telecom company Softbank Corp yesterday reported a record operating profit for the past financial year despite lower sales of mobile telephones. Softbank booked an operating profit of ¥359.12 billion in the year to March, up 10.7 percent from the previous year, while net profit plunged 60.3 percent to ¥43.17 billion partly on the early redemption of bonds and book losses on broadband infrastructure.
■AVIATION
Lufthansa reports losses
Germany’s leading airline Lufthansa posted yesterday a first-quarter net loss of 256 million euros (US$290 million), compared with a profit of 44 million euros in the same period a year earlier. On Wednesday, Lufthansa had reported an operating loss of 44 million euros in the first three months of the year and said it expected a drop in sales this year because of a dip in short-term demand for flights.
■BANKING
BOA chairman removed
Bank of America’s (BOA) shareholders on Wednesday removed Kenneth Lewis from the chairman’s post, but he will remain the chief executive, the US banking giant said. The decision to oust Lewis, who had angered shareholders by acquiring Merrill Lynch without informing them of the investment bank’s massive losses, was taken at the company’s annual meeting. Shareholders narrowly approved a proposal to change the firm’s by-laws to require an “independent chairman,” the bank said in a statement late on Wednesday.
■FINANCE
New rules on reporting
Beijing announced rules that ease controls on foreign financial information providers yesterday under an agreement with the US, Europe and Canada, but said those already operating in China must apply for permission to continue. The rules drop a requirement that foreign providers must work through a Chinese agent and reduces the amount of information they must disclose about their operations. Trade officials said the settlement would help Thomson Reuters Corp, Bloomberg LP and Dow Jones & Co. Xinhua was replaced as the industry regulator in February with a Cabinet body, the State Council Information Office, after complaints that Xinhua should not be allowed to regulate its competitors.
Tropical Storm Usagi strengthened to a typhoon yesterday morning and remains on track to brush past southeastern Taiwan from tomorrow to Sunday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was approximately 950km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost point, the CWA said. It is expected to enter the Bashi Channel and then turn north, moving into waters southeast of Taiwan, it said. The agency said it could issue a sea warning in the early hours of today and a land warning in the afternoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was moving at
UPDATED FORECAST: The warning covered areas of Pingtung County and Hengchun Peninsula, while a sea warning covering the southern Taiwan Strait was amended The Central Weather Administration (CWA) at 5:30pm yesterday issued a land warning for Typhoon Usagi as the storm approached Taiwan from the south after passing over the Philippines. As of 5pm, Usagi was 420km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost tip, with an average radius of 150km, the CWA said. The land warning covered areas of Pingtung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春), and came with an amended sea warning, updating a warning issued yesterday morning to cover the southern part of the Taiwan Strait. No local governments had announced any class or office closures as of press time last night. The typhoon
At least 35 people were killed and dozens more injured when a man plowed his car into pedestrians exercising around a sports center in the southern Chinese city of Zhuhai on Monday night. Footage showing bodies lying on the pavement appeared on social media in the hours after the crash, but had vanished by early Tuesday morning, and local police reported only “injuries.” It took officials nearly 24 hours to reveal that dozens had died — in one of the country’s deadliest incidents in years. China heavily monitors social media platforms, where it is common for words and topics deemed
Typhoon Usagi yesterday had weakened into a tropical storm, but a land warning issued by the Central Weather Administration (CWA) was still in effect in four areas in southern Taiwan. As of 5pm yesterday, Tropical Storm Usagi was over waters 120km south-southwest of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), the southernmost tip of Taiwan proper, and was moving north at 9kph, CWA data showed. The storm was expected to veer northeast later yesterday. It had maximum sustained winds of 101kph, with gusts of up to 126kph, the data showed. The CWA urged residents of Kaohsiung, Pingtung County, Taitung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春) to remain alert to
RSS