■ECONOMY
EU output flat in July
Official EU figures show that industrial production in the 16 countries that use the euro was flat in July, in contrast to expectations for a modest 0.2 percent increase. The figures from Eurostat, the EU’s statistics office, provided further evidence that the strong rebound in the industrial sector in the spring may have run its course and that the eurozone economy would not grow as rapidly in the third quarter as it did in the second. Eurostat also said yesterday that industrial production was unchanged for the wider 27-country EU, which also includes non-euro members such as Britain and Sweden.
■LEISURE
Disney, France extend deal
Euro Disney, Europe’s top tourist attraction, was to extend its partnership deal yesterday with France to 2030, enlarging the theme park in Paris and eyeing 8 billion euros (US$10.3 billion) in extra investment. The amended deal gives Euro Disney the right to build a third theme park “in the long term,” the company said in a statement, and extends the size of the current site from 1,943 hectares to 2,230 hectares. Euro Disney, which said it contributes more than 6 percent of foreign tourist revenue in France, will also develop a project with the Pierre & Vacances group based on sustainable development for an investment of 1.8 billion euros.
■ELECTRONICS
Philips sets new targets
Royal Philips Electronics NV, the world’s biggest maker of lights, said yesterday it aimed to grow sales at least 2 percent faster than the global economy over the coming five years, and earnings per share at twice the pace of sales. The company abandoned its previous set of financial targets after the financial crisis of 2008. In a statement, the Amsterdam-based company said it would also have operating earnings after amortization of goodwill of between 10 and 13 percent of sales in 2011 to 2015.
■AUTOMOBILES
Kia halts Iran exports
South Korea’s Kia Motors, whose Pride model is ubiquitous on Iranian roads, said yesterday it had suspended exports to the state partly in response to Seoul’s nuclear-related sanctions. Kia’s Pride, a small hatchback, accounts for 30 to 40 percent of all vehicles on Iran’s roads, the company said. The firm last year exported 4,210 complete vehicles to Iran and 17,040 cars in kit form for local assembly.
■MINING
SK to invest in Brazil firm
South Korea’s top trading firm, SK Networks, said yesterday it had signed a non-binding deal to buy a stake in a Brazilian iron ore mining company for about US$700 million. SK Networks said it would buy about 11 to 14 percent of MMX Mineracao and Metalicos as part of efforts to diversify its business portfolio. The company said in a statement that it could secure 9 million tonnes of iron ore a year from the investment.
■AVIATION
Virgin may drop Tasman
Australian budget airline Virgin Blue may stop flying its trans-Tasman route, Virgin Airlines founder Richard Branson warned, after regulators last week said it would likely scupper the proposed cooperation between Virgin Blue and Air New Zealand on flights between Australia and New Zealand because it could disadvantage customers. Branson said it was now possible that Virgin Blue would no longer fly across the Tasman Sea, leaving Australian airline Qantas and its budget offshoot, Jetstar, to dominate the route.
AIR SUPPORT: The Ministry of National Defense thanked the US for the delivery, adding that it was an indicator of the White House’s commitment to the Taiwan Relations Act Deputy Minister of National Defense Po Horng-huei (柏鴻輝) and Representative to the US Alexander Yui on Friday attended a delivery ceremony for the first of Taiwan’s long-awaited 66 F-16C/D Block 70 jets at a Lockheed Martin Corp factory in Greenville, South Carolina. “We are so proud to be the global home of the F-16 and to support Taiwan’s air defense capabilities,” US Representative William Timmons wrote on X, alongside a photograph of Taiwanese and US officials at the event. The F-16C/D Block 70 jets Taiwan ordered have the same capabilities as aircraft that had been upgraded to F-16Vs. The batch of Lockheed Martin
GRIDLOCK: The National Fire Agency’s Special Search and Rescue team is on standby to travel to the countries to help out with the rescue effort A powerful earthquake rocked Myanmar and neighboring Thailand yesterday, killing at least three people in Bangkok and burying dozens when a high-rise building under construction collapsed. Footage shared on social media from Myanmar’s second-largest city showed widespread destruction, raising fears that many were trapped under the rubble or killed. The magnitude 7.7 earthquake, with an epicenter near Mandalay in Myanmar, struck at midday and was followed by a strong magnitude 6.4 aftershock. The extent of death, injury and destruction — especially in Myanmar, which is embroiled in a civil war and where information is tightly controlled at the best of times —
Taiwan was ranked the fourth-safest country in the world with a score of 82.9, trailing only Andorra, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar in Numbeo’s Safety Index by Country report. Taiwan’s score improved by 0.1 points compared with last year’s mid-year report, which had Taiwan fourth with a score of 82.8. However, both scores were lower than in last year’s first review, when Taiwan scored 83.3, and are a long way from when Taiwan was named the second-safest country in the world in 2021, scoring 84.8. Taiwan ranked higher than Singapore in ninth with a score of 77.4 and Japan in 10th with
SECURITY RISK: If there is a conflict between China and Taiwan, ‘there would likely be significant consequences to global economic and security interests,’ it said China remains the top military and cyber threat to the US and continues to make progress on capabilities to seize Taiwan, a report by US intelligence agencies said on Tuesday. The report provides an overview of the “collective insights” of top US intelligence agencies about the security threats to the US posed by foreign nations and criminal organizations. In its Annual Threat Assessment, the agencies divided threats facing the US into two broad categories, “nonstate transnational criminals and terrorists” and “major state actors,” with China, Russia, Iran and North Korea named. Of those countries, “China presents the most comprehensive and robust military threat
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