U.S. backs Taiwan for aviation body

The U.S. House of Representatives urged the United Nations aviation group to give a role to Taiwan, a small victory for an island whose rivalry with China keeps it from world bodies.Lawmakers unanimously approved a bill that directed Secretary of State John Kerry to use U.S. diplomacy to push for observer status for Taiwan when the International Civil Aviation Organization meets in Montreal in September.Rep. Ed Royce, the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said the move would be a

June 19, 2013

Chrysler to recall 2.7m Jeeps

DETROIT (AP) ― After initially defying federal regulators, Chrysler abruptly agreed Tuesday to recall some older-model Jeeps with fuel tanks that could rupture and cause fires in rear-end collisions.But the recall, which came in an 11th-hour deal between the automaker and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, covers only 1.56 million of the 2.7 million Jeeps that the government wanted repaired. The rest are part of a “customer service action” and many may not get fixed.By giving in

June 19, 2013

Kuroda says BOJ can ease more if conditions change significantly

Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said that the central bank could add to its unprecedented monetary easing announced two months ago should economic conditions change significantly. The April 4 package could be expanded or reduced as needed, Kuroda told lawmakers Wednesday. The BOJ said in its latest statement that it will make policy adjustments “as appropriate.” In April, Kuroda said that policy makers had done everything “necessary” and “possible” to counter deflation and spur growth. Wh

June 19, 2013

Swiss lawmakers refuse to vote on U.S. tax dodgers

GENEVA (AFP) ― Swiss lawmakers refused on Tuesday to vote on a deal with the United States exposing U.S. tax dodgers with assets in Swiss banks, risking a clash with Washington just as G8 leaders vow to crack down on secrecy.At issue in the complex procedural wrangling is the extent to which Swiss banking secrecy, until recently widely seen as sacrosanct, will be prised open, exposing hidden accounts.A stormy session of the Swiss lower house, or National Council, refused for the second time to h

June 19, 2013

Japan exports surge most since 2010 in boost for Abe

Japan’s exports rose more than forecast in May as a weaker yen boosted the value of overseas sales, underscoring the profit boon for manufacturers from Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s reflation campaign. The value of shipments abroad increased 10 percent in May from a year earlier, the most since 2010 and exceeding the 6.4 percent median estimate in a Bloomberg News survey of economists, a Finance Ministry report showed in Tokyo. At the same time, export volume dropped 4.8 percent. Today’s data refl

June 19, 2013

Food companies work to make it look natural

NEW YORK (AP) ― Here’s the latest goal for food makers: Perfect the art of imperfection. When stretching out the dough for its premium “Artisan Pizzas,” Domino’s workers are instructed not to worry about making the rectangles too perfect: The pies are supposed to have a more rustic look. At McDonald’s, the egg whites for the new breakfast sandwich called the Egg White Delight McMuffin have a loose shape rather than the round discs used in the original Egg McMuffin. And Kraft Foods took more than

June 18, 2013

Long-haul jets get Paris Air Show boost

LE BOURGET, France (AP) ― Airbus and Boeing won pledges for big purchases of their lucrative long-haul wide-body jets at the Paris Air Show Monday, raising hopes that demand is recovering following the worldwide recession.The global aviation event at Le Bourget airfield north of Paris is once again playing host to the rivalry between U.S.-based Boeing and France-based Airbus. After several years of success for their smaller models, the world’s leading plane makers are hoping to get orders for th

June 18, 2013

OECD report to help G8 offensive against tax evaders

PARIS (AFP) ― The OECD provided ammunition Tuesday for an expected G8 offensive against tax evasion in a report outlining how to bring about automatic sharing of financial information that would shoot a hole through banking secrecy.Prepared at the request of G8 leaders meeting in Northern Ireland, the report outlines how to swiftly achieve their goal of tightening the noose of information exchange around tax havens.It suggests that countries adopt broad, relatively standardized, framework legisl

June 18, 2013

Britain ‘spied’ on G20 delegates: report

LONDON (AFP) ― Documents leaked by U.S. former spy Edward Snowden appeared to show Britain spied on G20 delegates during meetings in London back in 2009, Britain’s Guardian newspaper reported Monday.Among the officials targeted were delegates from NATO ally Turkey and from South Africa.Britain used “ground-breaking intelligence capabilities” to monitor communications between officials at the two meetings in April and September of 2009, the paper reported.The revelations are likely to be an embar

June 17, 2013

Solar plane lands in Washington on U.S. tour

WASHINGTON (AFP) ― The solar-powered Solar Impulse aircraft landed near the U.S. capital early on Sunday on the second to last leg of its cross-country journey, organizers said.The single-seater plane, which runs on four electric propellers powered by 12,000 solar cells mounted on its 63-meter wingspan, touched down smoothly in the dark at Dulles International Airport at 12:15 a.m.The Solar Impulse usually lands in the middle of the night, when airport traffic has subsided.At the controls was Sw

June 17, 2013

Japan’s P.M. pushes nuclear exports

WARSAW (AFP) ― Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe made a push on Sunday for his country’s nuclear technologies at a summit in Warsaw with leaders of four ex-Communist European Union countries, as part of his bid to boost the Asian powerhouse’s exports.Abe recently unveiled plans to treble Japan’s infrastructure exports to 30 trillion yen ($300 billion) a year, a target that could not be reached without nuclear reactors.At Japan’s first summit with the so-called Visegrad Group ― the Czech Republi

June 17, 2013

EU reaches terms with France on U.S. free trade talks

LUXEMBOURG (AFP) ― EU trade ministers finally thrashed out a deal Friday on how to negotiate for a free trade deal with the United States, after meeting a French demand to exclude the key audiovisual sector.After some 13 hours of talks, ministers had reached what one EU source described as a “not in, not out” formula.Officials said the ministers would leave the audiovisual sector out of the mandate for initial talks over what would be the world’s biggest free trade deal, as Paris had insisted.Bu

June 16, 2013