■BANKING
FSA censures Citigroup
Citigroup Inc was ordered to suspend some operations in Japan for a month, the nation’s Financial Services Agency (FSA) said. The US bank had inadequate internal controls, the regulator said. Meanwhile, Sumitomo Trust & Banking Co is in the final stages of talks to buy Citigroup’s Nikko Asset Management Co for more than US$1 billion, the Nikkei reported yesterday. The two companies aim to reach a deal next week, the business daily reported in its evening edition, without naming its sources.
■AUTOMOBILES
Hummer deal unlikely
China’s planning agency is likely to reject a Chinese company’s bid to acquire General Motors Corp’s Hummer unit, in part because its gas-guzzling vehicles conflict with Beijing’s conservation goals, state radio reported. The National Development and Reform Commission is also likely to say Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery Corp (四川騰中重工機械), a maker of construction machinery, lacks expertise to run Hummer, China National Radio said late on Thursday. It cited no source.
■COMPUTING
PC shipments to rise
Gartner Inc analysts are predicting this holiday season will be sweeter than last year’s for the personal computer industry. The technology research group predicts some growth in PC shipments in the final three months of this year, though it did not say how much. PC shipments dropped about 7 percent in the first quarter and Gartner says it expects 10 percent declines from last year’s levels in the next two quarters. For next year, Gartner forecasts PC shipments will rise about 10 percent from this year.
■FRANCE
Confidence edges up
French consumer confidence edged up again this month, but still remains weak, official data showed yesterday. The INSEE statistics body said its consumer confidence index for households rose to minus 37 points this month from minus 40 points in May. The index hit a record low of minus 48 points in July last year. This month, French households were more positive about the outlook on their finances, with this index rising sharply to minus 13 points from minus 23 points in May.
■SOUTH KOREA
Another surplus logged
South Korea logged a current account surplus for the fourth straight month last month as imports fell faster than exports during the ongoing global economic slump, the central Bank of Korea said yesterday. The current account surplus stood at US$3.63 billion in May, compared with US$4.25 billion a month earlier. For the first five months, the accumulated current account surplus amounted to US$16.46 billion.
■UNITED STATES
Swap deals extended
The US Federal Reserve said on Thursday it was extending US dollar swap deals with 13 central banks into next year following a review of liquidity programs aimed at promoting “financial stability.” The deals were clinched beginning last year as the Fed and other key central banks moved to boost lending and unblock the global credit squeeze. The extension of the US dollar swap arrangements through Feb. 1 applies to the central banks of Australia, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, the UK, South Korea, Mexico, New Zealand, Norway, Singapore, Sweden, Switzerland and the European Central Bank.
ANNOUNCEMENT: People who do not comply with the ban after a spoken warning would be reported to the police, the airport company said on Friday Taoyuan International Airport Corp on Friday announced that riding on vehicles, including scooter-suitcases (also known as “scootcases”), bicycles, scooters and skateboards, is prohibited in the airport’s terminals. Those using such vehicles should manually pull them or place them on luggage trolleys, the company said in a Facebook post. The ban intends to maintain order and protect travelers’ safety, as the airport often sees large crowds of people, it said, adding that it has stepped up publicity for the regulation, and those who do not comply after a spoken warning would be reported to the police. The company yesterday said that
QUIET START: Nearly a week after applications opened, agencies did not announce or promote the program, nor did they explain how it differed from other visitor visas Taiwan has launched a six-month “digital nomad visitor visa” program for foreign nationals from its list of visa-exempt countries who meet financial eligibility criteria and provide proof of work contracts. To apply, foreign nationals must either provide proof that they have obtained a digital nomad visa issued by another country or demonstrate earnings based on age brackets, the Bureau of Consular Affairs said. Applicants aged 20 to 29 must show they earned an annual salary of at least US$20,000 or its equivalent in one of the past two years, while those aged 30 or older must provide proof they earned US$40,000 in
NEW YEAR’S ADDRESS: ‘No matter what threats and challenges Taiwan faces, democracy is the only path,’ William Lai said, urging progress ‘without looking back’ President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday urged parties across the political divide to democratically resolve conflicts that have plagued domestic politics within Taiwan’s constitutional system. In his first New Year’s Day address since becoming president on May 20 last year, Lai touched on several issues, including economic and security challenges, but a key emphasis was on the partisan wrangling that has characterized his first seven months in office. Taiwan has transformed from authoritarianism into today’s democracy and that democracy is the future, Lai said. “No matter what threats and challenges Taiwan faces, democracy is the only path for Taiwan,” he said. “The only choice
UNITY MESSAGE: Rather than focusing on what Trump said on the campaign trail about Taiwan, Taipei should be willing to engage with the US, Pompeo said Taiwan plays a key role in Washington’s model of deterrence against China, former US secretary of state Mike Pompeo said in a speech in Taipei yesterday. During US president-elect Donald Trump’s first term, “we had developed what we believe was a pretty effective model of deterrence against adversaries who wanted to undermine the set of rules and values that the people of Taiwan and the people of the US hold dear,” Pompeo said at a forum organized by the Formosa Republican Association. “Succeeding in continuing to build this model will not solely rest at the feet of president Trump and his team,
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