Virus Outbreak: Chinese stocks dive over virus worries
Many stocks immediately fell by the 10 percent daily limit — almost 3,500 at the last count. China’s benchmark iron ore contract declined by its daily limit of 8 percent, while crude and palm oil also sank by the maximum allowed. “It is really hard to trade stocks,” Beijing WanDeFu Investment Management Co (北京萬得富投資管理) chairman Li Shuwei (李樹偉) said. It’s too early to buy stocks right now and it’s also difficult to sell as all shares are limit down. In addition, the commission suspended securities lending, one of the few short selling tools available in China, until further notice, the people said.
Source:Taipei Times
February 03, 2020 15:56 UTC
Ryanair reports profit, predicts boost from virus
BloombergRyanair Holdings PLC said demand for air travel within Europe could receive an unlikely boost if the coronavirus epidemic in China persists, prompting people to holiday closer to home. Trends from 2003, when travelers avoided Asia after the SARS outbreak, suggest consumers could begin to alter their travel habits, Ryanair chief financial officer Neil Sorahan said in an interview yesterday. As of yesterday Thailand had 19 confirmed cases, Fitch said. For Ryanair, a surge in European travel would bolster margins as it grapples with the grounding of Boeing Co’s 737 MAX jet. Bookings are 1 percent up on last year, with planes 96 percent full, so an increase in regional travel would push up fares.
Source:Taipei Times
February 03, 2020 15:56 UTC
Virus Outbreak: China ‘urgently needs’ medical gear and masks as virus toll tops SARS
AFP, BEIJINGChina yesterday said it urgently needed medical equipment and masks, as the death toll from 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) jumped above 360, making it deadlier than the SARS crisis nearly two decades ago. The virus has since spread to more than 24 countries, despite many governments imposing unprecedented travel bans on arrivals from China. “What China urgently needs at present are medical masks, protective suits, and safety goggles,” Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Hua Chunying (華春瑩) told a press briefing. The national death toll reached 361 — exceeding the 349 mainland fatalities from the 2002-2003 SARS outbreak. China criticized the US for being the first to evacuate nationals without providing “substantial assistance” to China.
Source:Taipei Times
February 03, 2020 15:56 UTC
Fraudsters cash in on New Year
Fraudsters cash in on the Lunar New Year holiday by impersonating an acquaintance to ask that a victim transfer them money, with older people making up nearly 70 percent of victims, the Crime Prevention Affairs Division said. Citing a case, officials said that a Taipei man, surnamed Chang (張), received a telephone call from someone claiming to be the brother of his ex-wife who was in urgent need of cash. An hour later, the man called again to say that the money was not enough, prompting Cheng to ask his wife to wire another NT$50,000 to the account, the officials said. People could decide upon a secret code or term known only to themselves to verify the identity of a caller, the officials said. People should avoid using the same password for multiple accounts and not click on suspicious Web addresses, the officials said.
Source:Taipei Times
February 02, 2020 15:56 UTC
Viral Outbreak: Taiwan to evacuate nationals
Taiwan had tried to arrange a charter flight to repatriate Taiwanese who have expressed a desire to return home, but Chinese authorities refused the request until yesterday. “Their biggest wish is to return to Taiwan,” Hsu said, adding that they are willing to be placed under quarantine after returning home, despite being in good health. The Ministry of Transportation and Communications confirmed that China Airlines Ltd (中華航空) would dispatch a charter flight. “Taiwanese who are confirmed to have 2019-nCoV will not be allowed to board the charter flight,” Chen said, adding that suspected cases would be separated from other passengers. The timing of the evacuation is being negotiated between the Taiwanese and Chinese governments, he added.
Source:Taipei Times
February 02, 2020 15:56 UTC
CPC and Formosa lower gasoline, diesel prices
By Chen Cheng-hui / Staff reporterCPC Corp, Taiwan (CPC, 台灣中油) and Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) yesterday said that they would lower gasoline and diesel prices this week by NT$0.9 per liter for gasoline and NT$1 per liter for diesel, after global crude oil prices fell last week amid concerns that a coronavirus outbreak that began in China would dent global growth and market demand. Based on CPC’s weighted oil price formula — 70 percent Dubai crude and 30 percent Brent crude — its average crude oil costs fell to US$58.45 per barrel last week, from US$63.32 a week earlier. After factoring in the depreciation of the New Taiwan dollar, which last week was down by NT$0.276 against the US dollar, gasoline prices should be reduced by 5.47 percent this week, CPC said. From today, prices at CPC gas stations are to be NT$25.9, NT$27.4 and NT$29.4 per liter for 92, 95 and 98-octane unleaded gasoline respectively, while premium diesel is to cost NT$23.7 per liter, it said. Formosa Petrochemical cut its 92, 95 and 98-octane unleaded gasoline to NT$25.9, NT$27.3 and NT$29.4 per liter respectively, with premium diesel dropping to NT$23.5 per liter.
Source:Taipei Times
February 02, 2020 15:56 UTC
A divided Britain seeks a new identity
“It’s a bit sad — the fact that the UK will no longer be in Europe,” she said. “It will be more difficult to come here.”South Kensington is one of numerous European districts within the British capital. “We will see a lot of change.”In Ealing, west London, eastern European immigrants have their own bakeries, doctors, and church. For many residents as well as businesses based in the capital, the 2016 Brexit vote was a tragedy. London itself voted overwhelmingly to remain inside the EU, but was outgunned by millions of euroskeptics living across the rest of the country.
Source:Taipei Times
February 02, 2020 15:56 UTC
African swine fever spreads in Philippines
Reuters, MANILABlood samples taken from pigs in a southern province of the Philippines, the world’s 10th-largest pork consumer, have tested positive for African swine fever, the Philippine Department of Agriculture said yesterday. It was the first reported case of African swine fever in Davao Occidental province and elsewhere in Mindanao, the southern island of the Philippines. The Philippines, also the world’s seventh-biggest pork importer, reported its first African swine fever outbreak in September last year in some backyard farms near the capital, Manila. Although the blood samples from pigs in Davao Occidental had already tested positive for African swine fever, further tests were to be undertaken by the Bureau of Animal Industry for confirmation. About 1,000 pigs in Davao Occidental have been culled amid the outbreak, local media reported, citing information from the provincial government.
Source:Taipei Times
February 02, 2020 15:56 UTC
Apple takes smartphone sales crown
AFP, SAN FRANCISCOApple Inc was the world’s top smartphone seller in the final quarter of last year, seizing the crown from Samsung Electronics Co, market trackers said. South Korean consumer electronics giant Samsung delivered about 69.4 million handsets as it slipped to the No. For the full year, overall smartphone sales were down about 1 percent despite an improving trend in the fourth quarter, IDC and Strategy Analytics surveys showed. IDC reported shipments of 368 million handsets last year compared with 373 million a year earlier — a third consecutive yearly decline. Separately, Apple is temporarily closing its 42 stores in mainland China, the company’s third-biggest market in terms of sales behind the US and Europe.
Source:Taipei Times
February 02, 2020 15:56 UTC
Virus Fears: Man charged over online allegations
By Jason Pan / Staff reporterA Taoyuan man is facing defamation charges for allegedly circulating rumors online that the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) was profiting from the 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) outbreak, the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) said yesterday. DPP officials filed a request for a police investigation after the claims were widely circulated on Facebook, the messaging app Line and other social media. When located at his home, Hsu reportedly told CIB officers: “Why is this so serious? Authorities could not locate the man, surnamed Feng (馮), and the woman, surnamed Chen (陳), at the Taipei address they provided, prosecutors said. Health officials have ordered all travelers returning from Wuhan and Hubei Province to remain in their residences for 14 days, which is the suspected incubation period for 2019-nCoV, prosecutors said.
Source:Taipei Times
February 02, 2020 15:56 UTC
Viral Outbreak: Philippines reports first virus death outside of China, restricts travelers
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte approved a temporary ban on all travelers, except Filipinos, from China and its autonomous regions. The death toll in China yesterday climbed by 45 to 304 and the number of cases by 2,590 to 14,380, according to the Chinese National Health Commission. Six officials in the city of Huanggang, neighboring the epicenter of Wuhan in Hubei Province, have been fired over “poor performance” in handling the outbreak, Xinhua news agency reported. Indonesia and Oman also halted flights to China, as did Saudi Arabia’s flagship national carrier, Saudia. South Korea barred foreigners who have stayed in or traveled to Hubei Province within the past 14 days from entering the country.
Source:Taipei Times
February 02, 2020 15:56 UTC
Climate breakdown ‘is increasing violence against women’
By Fiona Harvey / The GuardianClimate breakdown and the global crisis of environmental degradation are increasing violence against women and girls, while gender-based exploitation is in turn hampering our ability to tackle the crises, a major report has concluded. “We found gender-based violence to be pervasive, and there is enough clear evidence to suggest that climate change is increasing gender-based violence,” said Cate Owren, a lead author of the report, published on Wednesday. Gender-based violence includes domestic violence, sexual assault and rape, forced prostitution, forced marriage and child marriage, as well as other forms of the exploitation of women. “Gender-based violence is one of the most pervasive but least talked-about barriers that face us in conservation and climate work,” said Owren. Sexual violence is used to suppress them, undermine their status within the community and discourage others from coming forward.
Source:Taipei Times
February 02, 2020 15:56 UTC
Coronavirus threat to tourism in Japan, LDP’s Kishida says
BloombergThe coronavirus outbreak is expected to affect Japan’s economy by hurting tourism to the nation, said Fumio Kishida, the chairperson of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party’s (LDP) Policy Research Council. “There will definitely be an impact on the economy,” Kishida told national broadcaster NHK yesterday. Abe said on Friday that Japan would bar entry to people with symptoms of the coronavirus effective Feb. 1. In addition to the virus outbreak, there are downside risks to Japan’s economy, including the UK’s departure from the EU and tensions in the Middle East, Kishida said. That makes it important to implement the stimulus package compiled late last year, he added.
Source:Taipei Times
February 02, 2020 15:56 UTC
Malaysia probes Airbus-AirAsia bribe allegations
The office on Friday said that Airbus had failed to prevent individuals associated with it from bribing executives linked to AirAsia and its long-haul arm, AirAsia X Bhd. AirAsia said it had never made any purchase decisions that were premised on an Airbus sponsorship, and that it would fully cooperate with the commission. It had not been involved with the office’s investigation of Airbus or been given an opportunity to provide clarification, it said in a statement. “AirAsia vigorously rejects and denies any and all allegations of wrongdoing,” it said. It said that Airbus employees offered an additional US$55 million, but no payment was made.
Source:Taipei Times
February 02, 2020 15:56 UTC
Mammoth IPO proposed for India’s biggest insurer
India aims to sell the stake in the year starting April 1, Indian Department of Investment and Public Asset Management Secretary Tuhin Kanta Pandey said in an interview. The “LIC IPO is akin to the Saudi Aramco listing for our capital markets,” said Vijay Bhushan, president of the Association of National Exchanges Members of India. Nervousness was palpable on Saturday as shares of private insurers — SBI Life Insurance, General Insurance Corp of India, HDFC Life Insurance Co and ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Co — slumped 6 to 14 percent in a special trading session after the proposal was announced. SBI Life was among four insurers whose IPOs raised more than US$1 billion in 2017, data compiled by Bloomberg showed. Last year, the insurer bailed out IDBI Bank by buying a 51 percent stake in it.
Source:Taipei Times
February 02, 2020 15:56 UTC