The euro dropped for a second week against the US dollar to a five-week low as weaker economic data and calls by a European Central Bank (ECB) official for more economic aid damped investor appetite for higher-yielding currencies.
The euro reached a seven-week low against the Swiss franc after ECB council member Axel Weber on Thursday told Bloomberg Television the central bank should assist financial institutions to prevent year-end liquidity tensions.
The US dollar and yen rose against most of their major counterparts as data indicated the global economic recovery may be faltering.
The Japanese finance minister is set to meet the prime minister in the week ahead to discuss the nation’s currency.
The euro fell 0.3 percent to US$1.2712 in New York from US$1.2754 in the five days ended Aug. 13. It touched US$1.2673 on Friday, the weakest since July 13. Japan’s currency dropped 1 percent to ¥108.83 per euro from ¥109.92 last week in New York, after reaching ¥108.31, the strongest since July 1.
The euro sank 2 percent to SF1.3143 from SF1.3408 a week ago, after touching SF1.3140. The yen rose 0.7 percent to ¥85.62 per US dollar. The Canadian dollar rose 0.4 percent to C$1.0475.
The pound fell versus the US dollar and yen on Friday and two-year UK government bond yields reached a record low as concern that the global economic recovery is slowing boosted demand for the safest assets.
The British currency declined 0.7 percent to US$1.5487 and dropped 0.2 percent against the Swiss franc to SF1.6071 as of 4:25pm in London on Friday. It slipped 0.3 percent to ¥132.83. The pound rose 0.4 percent against the euro to £0.8184.
Taiwan aims to open 18 representative offices and seven Taiwan Tourism Information Centers worldwide by next year to attract international visitors, the Tourism Administration said on Saturday. The agency has so far opened three representative offices abroad this year and would open two more before the end of the year, it said. It has also already opened information centers in Jakarta, Mumbai and Paris, and is to open one in Vancouver next month and in Manila in December, it said. Next year, it would also open offices in Amsterdam, Dubai and Sydney, it added. While the Cabinet did not mention international tourists in its
EYES AT SEA: Many marine enthusiasts have expressed interest in volunteering for coastal patrols, which would help identify stowaways and illegal fishing, the CGA said Six thousand coastal patrol volunteers are to be recruited for 159 inspection offices to enhance the nation’s response to “gray zone” conflicts, Coast Guard Administration (CGA) sources said yesterday. Volunteer teams would be established to increase the resilience of coastal defense systems in the wake of two unlawful entries attempted by Chinese over the past three months, Ocean Affairs Council Minister Kuan Bi-ling (管碧玲) said. A former Chinese navy captain drove a motorboat into the Tamsui River (淡水河) in Taipei on the eve of the Dragon Boat Festival in June, while another Chinese man sailed in a rubber boat into the Houkeng
NEXT LEVEL: The defense ministry confirmed that a video released last month featured personnel piloting new FPV drone systems being developed by the Armaments Bureau Taipei and Washington are pushing for their drone companies to work together to establish a China-free supply chain, the Financial Times reported on Friday. A delegation of high-level executives and US government officials were yesterday to arrive in Taipei to discuss with their Taiwanese counterparts collaboration on drone technology procurement and development, the report said. The executives represent 26 US manufacturers of drone and counter-drone systems, while the officials are from the US Department of Commerce and the US Department of Defense’s Defense Innovation Unit, along with Dev Shenoy, principal director for microelectronics in the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense
‘ANONYMOUS 64’: A national security official said that it is an attempt by China to increase domestic anti-Taiwanese sentiment and inflame cross-strait tensions The Ministry of National Defense’s (MND) Information, Communications and Electronic Force Command (ICEFCOM) yesterday denied accusations by China that it had undermined regional security by carrying out cyberattacks against targets in China, adding instead that Beijing was responsible for raising tensions and undermining regional peace. The Chinese Ministry of State Security on WeChat accused a hacker group called “Anonymous 64” of targeting China, Hong Kong and Macau starting earlier this year through frequent cyberattacks. The group carried out cyberattacks to seize control of Web sites, outdoor electronic billboards and video-on-demand platforms in China, Hong Kong and Macau, it said, adding the hackers’