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US manufacturing higher in September
Washington: Analysts were confounded by a boost in factory output as the reconstruction US Gulf coast gathered steam according to a leading survey of manufacturing activity.

The index of manufacturing activity at the Institute for Supply Management rose sharply last month, by almost six points, to 59.4, the highest reading in more than a year.

The details of the report were uniformly strong, with the biggest increases in production and new orders for more than a year, and a smaller rise in employment in the manufacturing sector.

This supported the Federal Reserve's forecast that Hurricanes Katrina and Rita would have a temporary impact on the economy but would not prove a "more persistent threat".

The Fed has said it will continue to raise rates at a time when policymakers are concerned about inflation pressures, and that still-low long-term interest rates have not cooled the housing market.
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Taiwan tells Google not to depict it as Chinese province
Taipei: Taiwan's government has asked Web search company Google Inc. to stop calling it a 'province of China' on its Google Maps service.

China views Taiwan as a breakaway province and has threatened to attack the island of 23 million people if it pushes for formal statehood. The two countries split in a civil war ended in 1949.

Taiwan calls itself a sovereign and independent state that is officially called the Republic of China.

The foreign ministry of Taiwan has not received a response from Google.
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