■TECHNOLOGY
TECRO offers symposiums
The Investment and Trade Office of the Taipei Economic and Cultural and Representative Office (TECRO) said yesterday it would hold two free symposiums on investment and technology related topics in the next two months. The symposiums will be arranged together with several technology associations from the US east coast, TECRO said. The first symposium will be held on Aug. 8 and the second on Sept. 5 at TECRO’s office in New York. Lecturers will include prominent figures in the fields of investment and technology. Four Taiwanese professors will also give lectures. The speakers will discuss the effect of the subprime crisis, conditions on Wall Street and investment strategies to weather the global economic slump, TECRO said in a statement.
■AVIATION
Thai carrier suspends flights
Thailand’s low budget airline One-Two-Go announced yesterday it was suspending its operations for eight weeks, to allow time for financial restructuring. Services will stop from Tuesday until Sept. 15 as the impact of high fuel prices hits the no-frills carrier. “One-Two-Go have been affected by fierce price competition, other surcharges and continued high fuel prices and local political turmoil,” the company statement said. “The airline executive must be prudent and map out a new strategy focusing on its customers,” it said.
■UNITED KINGDOM
Downturn gets worse
The economic downturn is worse than previously thought and there is no extra money available for public spending, Finance Minister Alistair Darling said in an interview published yesterday. Darling also told the Times newspaper that taxpayers were at the limit of what they were willing to pay, a day after official data showed a record deficit in public finances and reports that the government might bend its budget rules. “At Christmas most people remained hopeful there would be an improvement by the autumn,” Darling said.
■TOYS
Mattel wins court case
The world’s largest toy maker, Mattel, on Friday won a court case against competitor MGA, maker of the Bratz dolls that have drawn customers away from its classic Barbie dolls. A 10-member federal jury in Riverside, California, ruled that the design for the Bratz, with their modern, urban look and cartoonish large heads and eyes, was conceived by designer Carter Bryant while he was working under contract at Mattel. It found MGA chief executive Isaac Larian interfered with Bryant’s contractual duties, taking Mattel property for MGA’s use. In the next stage of the case, the jury will determine if the dolls themselves infringe on the designs owned by Mattel and award any damages.
■AGRICULTURE
China must increase crops
China, the world’s biggest grower and consumer of grains, must boost crop yields by at least 1 percent a year to ensure the country has enough food to feed its 1.3 billion people, the Chinese Minister of Agriculture Sun Zhengcai (孫政才) said. The country will accelerate introduction of high-yield rice and genetically modified crops, protect farmland and raise rural incomes to retain farming interest, Sun said in a statement on the central government’s Web site on Friday. China’s growing incomes and population are increasing food demand even as more agricultural workers seek higher-paying jobs in cities.
The Eurovision Song Contest has seen a surge in punter interest at the bookmakers, becoming a major betting event, experts said ahead of last night’s giant glamfest in Basel. “Eurovision has quietly become one of the biggest betting events of the year,” said Tomi Huttunen, senior manager of the Online Computer Finland (OCS) betting and casino platform. Betting sites have long been used to gauge which way voters might be leaning ahead of the world’s biggest televised live music event. However, bookmakers highlight a huge increase in engagement in recent years — and this year in particular. “We’ve already passed 2023’s total activity and
Nvidia Corp CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) today announced that his company has selected "Beitou Shilin" in Taipei for its new Taiwan office, called Nvidia Constellation, putting an end to months of speculation. Industry sources have said that the tech giant has been eyeing the Beitou Shilin Science Park as the site of its new overseas headquarters, and speculated that the new headquarters would be built on two plots of land designated as "T17" and "T18," which span 3.89 hectares in the park. "I think it's time for us to reveal one of the largest products we've ever built," Huang said near the
China yesterday announced anti-dumping duties as high as 74.9 percent on imports of polyoxymethylene (POM) copolymers, a type of engineering plastic, from Taiwan, the US, the EU and Japan. The Chinese Ministry of Commerce’s findings conclude a probe launched in May last year, shortly after the US sharply increased tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, computer chips and other imports. POM copolymers can partially replace metals such as copper and zinc, and have various applications, including in auto parts, electronics and medical equipment, the Chinese ministry has said. In January, it said initial investigations had determined that dumping was taking place, and implemented preliminary
Intel Corp yesterday reinforced its determination to strengthen its partnerships with Taiwan’s ecosystem partners including original-electronic-manufacturing (OEM) companies such as Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) and chipmaker United Microelectronics Corp (UMC, 聯電). “Tonight marks a new beginning. We renew our new partnership with Taiwan ecosystem,” Intel new chief executive officer Tan Lip-bu (陳立武) said at a dinner with representatives from the company’s local partners, celebrating the 40th anniversary of the US chip giant’s presence in Taiwan. Tan took the reins at Intel six weeks ago aiming to reform the chipmaker and revive its past glory. This is the first time Tan
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