HONG KONG - A Hong Kong district court on Monday fined operators of a nonprofit pirate radio station for illegal broadcasting, even while it acknowledged their "noble" intention.
Magistrate Douglas Yau, whose earlier verdict favoring the defendants was overturned by a higher court in December last year, found the unlicensed Citizen's Radio and five defendants guilty of illegal broadcasting and fined them HK$42,000 (about US$5,420).
---------- Isetan Mitsukoshi logs operating loss in 1st half of FY 2009
TOKYO - Department store operator Isetan Mitsukoshi Holdings Ltd. said Monday it fell into the red in the April-September first half of fiscal 2009, with a group operating loss of 425 million yen, against a year-earlier profit of 11.22 billion yen, due to sluggish sales amid the global economic downturn.
Unveiling a revised three-year business plan covering fiscal 2010- Isetan Mitsukoshi said it will invest some 110 billion yen during the period and aim to secure a group operating profit of more than 20 billion yen in fiscal 2012 through March 2013.
---------- APEC finance ministers to discuss new sources of growth
MANILA - The finance ministers of Asia-Pacific region are to meet in Singapore on Thursday to discuss how to further spur economic growth in the region and make post-crisis growth more sustainable.
"Despite the current economic rebound, growth in APEC remains below pre-crisis levels, and output below its potential," an official of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum told Kyodo News.
---------- Over 1,000 Toyota owners report sudden acceleration, 19 may be killed
NEW YORK - More than 1,000 owners of Toyota Motor Corp. vehicles have reported sudden vehicle acceleration since 2001, and at least 19 people may have been killed in subsequent crashes into trees, parked cars and other obstacles, a U.S. newspaper reported Sunday.
The Los Angeles Times said it obtained the findings in an independent review of records of accidents and drivers' complaints involving Toyota and Lexus vehicles at the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and other entities.
---------- Tokyo stocks mixed as political worries offset gains on earnings
TOKYO - Tokyo stocks ended mixed Monday for the second straight session, with support from buying in shares with upbeat earnings outlooks, though overall sentiment remained sluggish amid wariness about political prospects.
Erasing early losses, the 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average rose 19.64 points, or 0.20 percent, from Friday to 9,808.99. The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange was down 3.34 points, or 0.38 percent, to 870.67.
