ELECTRONICS
Dell halts US tablet sales
Dell Inc said on Monday it would halt sales of its Android tablet computer in the US market, as rival Amazon.com’s new Kindle Fire has heated up in a market dominated by Apple Inc’s iPad. A message on the Texas-based computer’s Web site said that the 7-inch Streak tablet powered by Google Inc’s mobile operating software would no longer be sold in the US. The Streak 7 failed to gain momentum after its debut at the Consumer Electronics Show in January. Dell said Streak 7 continues to be available “in many markets” through partners, such as Optus in Australia. A 10-inch version of the Streak is sold in China.
BANKING
HSBC cuts 330 UK jobs
HSBC Holdings PLC will cut 330 jobs in the UK because of “the very challenging economic environment,” the global banking giant said on Monday. “HSBC is today announcing some proposed changes to various areas of our business that will result in the loss of approximately 330 roles in the UK ... in response to the very challenging economic environment and the bank’s need to ensure it is working as efficiently as possible,” a statement said. The UK’s largest trade union, Unite, slammed Europe’s biggest bank for making a “disgraceful” announcement so close to Christmas. HSBC said the job losses were in addition to a major restructuring program announced in August, when the bank revealed plans to cut 30,000 jobs worldwide during the next two years to reduce costs.
SOFTWARE
Microsoft teams with Hitachi
Microsoft Corp is joining forces with Hitachi Consulting to help develop new software for Microsoft’s business group in Fargo, North Dakota. The agreement announced on Monday would establish a technical development center in Fargo. Plans call for the business to start out at the Microsoft campus and eventually move into a new facility. Hitachi Consulting spokesperson Mike Gillis expects the new venture to employ about 20 people in the first six months, but says it has potential to hire more than 1,500 people. Hitachi Consulting is a global management consulting and technology services company with operations in North America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia.
INSURANCE
Swiss Re costs Thai floods
Swiss Reinsurance Co Ltd yesterday said that Thailand’s worst flooding in decades would cost it about US$600 million, but warned that the estimate could be revised. “Water levels remain high in certain regions, making it difficult to correctly estimate the losses,” Swiss Re said in a statement. “The impact of the floods on the Thai economy and on businesses active there is likely to be big and could last for a certain amount of time,” said Brian Gray, chief underwriting officer at the company. About 1,500 industrial sites were affected by the floods, the firm said.
ELECTRONICS
IBM buys Curam Software
US computer giant IBM said on Monday that it has bought Curam Software, an Irish company that makes programs used by government agencies to deliver social services. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. IBM said Curam software is used in more than 80 government agency projects around the world, including by health and human services, workforce programs and social security organizations. The Dublin-based Curam was founded in 1990 and has about 700 employees.
Stephen Garrett, a 27-year-old graduate student, always thought he would study in China, but first the country’s restrictive COVID-19 policies made it nearly impossible and now he has other concerns. The cost is one deterrent, but Garrett is more worried about restrictions on academic freedom and the personal risk of being stranded in China. He is not alone. Only about 700 American students are studying at Chinese universities, down from a peak of nearly 25,000 a decade ago, while there are nearly 300,000 Chinese students at US schools. Some young Americans are discouraged from investing their time in China by what they see
Taiwan Transport and Storage Corp (TTS, 台灣通運倉儲) yesterday unveiled its first electric tractor unit — manufactured by Volvo Trucks — in a ceremony in Taipei, and said the unit would soon be used to transport cement produced by Taiwan Cement Corp (TCC, 台灣水泥). Both TTS and TCC belong to TCC International Holdings Ltd (台泥國際集團). With the electric tractor unit, the Taipei-based cement firm would become the first in Taiwan to use electric vehicles to transport construction materials. TTS chairman Koo Kung-yi (辜公怡), Volvo Trucks vice president of sales and marketing Johan Selven, TCC president Roman Cheng (程耀輝) and Taikoo Motors Group
MAJOR DROP: CEO Tim Cook, who is visiting Hanoi, pledged the firm was committed to Vietnam after its smartphone shipments declined 9.6% annually in the first quarter Apple Inc yesterday said it would increase spending on suppliers in Vietnam, a key production hub, as CEO Tim Cook arrived in the country for a two-day visit. The iPhone maker announced the news in a statement on its Web site, but gave no details of how much it would spend or where the money would go. Cook is expected to meet programmers, content creators and students during his visit, online newspaper VnExpress reported. The visit comes as US President Joe Biden’s administration seeks to ramp up Vietnam’s role in the global tech supply chain to reduce the US’ dependence on China. Images on
New apartments in Taiwan’s major cities are getting smaller, while old apartments are increasingly occupied by older people, many of whom live alone, government data showed. The phenomenon has to do with sharpening unaffordable property prices and an aging population, property brokers said. Apartments with one bedroom that are two years old or older have gained a noticeable presence in the nation’s six special municipalities as well as Hsinchu county and city in the past five years, Evertrust Rehouse Co (永慶房產集團) found, citing data from the government’s real-price transaction platform. In Taipei, apartments with one bedroom accounted for 19 percent of deals last