ELECTRONICS
Judge urges firms to settle
A US federal judge appeared ready to trim millions from a US$1.05 billion jury verdict Apple Inc won over Samsung Electronics this summer as she urged the two smartphone companies to settle their myriad legal actions around the world. US District Judge Lucy Koh said on Thursday she would issue a series of rulings over the next several weeks resolving the many legal issues raised at the hearing on Thursday. Samsung is seeking a new trial or a reduction of the verdict that resulted from a lawsuit Apple filed last year. Apple, on the other hand, urged the judge to add millions more to the award and permanently ban the US sales of eight Samsung smartphone models.
UNITED STATES
US to probe silica trade
Washington on Thursday announced a new trade probe aimed at China, investigating alleged dumping of silica bricks into the US market by Chinese producers. Responding to a complaint by Utah Refractories Corp, the US Department of Commerce said that it would investigate whether Chinese producers were selling the bricks into the US market at less than fair value. Imports of Chinese-made silica bricks, refractory materials used for lining high-temperature furnaces, jumped from US$19.7 million in 2009 to US$43.2 million last year, the department said.
GREECE
Unemployment rate rises
The unemployment rate rose to a new record of 26 percent in September, underscoring the economic plight in the country as it heads toward a sixth year of recession. The Greek Statistical Authority said on Thursday that 1.295 million people — more than a fourth of the workforce in this nation of 10 million — were recorded as unemployed in September. Unemployment rose from 25.3 percent the previous month and 18.9 percent a year earlier.
FRANCE
Trade deficit decreases
The trade deficit shrank by 6.2 percent in October from September to 4.69 billion euros (US$6.1 billion) because of increases in exports of chemicals, refined oil products and grains, the customs service said yesterday. In the 12 months to September the trade deficit came in at 66.7 billion euros. Last year the trade deficit totalled 73.7 billion euros. Exports rose by 0.6 percent over the month to hit 37.8 billion euros in October according to seasonally adjusted data.
MALAYSIA
Export shipments drop
Shipments by export-dependent Malaysia slipped in October as demand from the increasingly important Chinese market dropped sharply, the government said yesterday. Total exports contracted 3.2 percent year-on-year as the lower shipments to China removed a buffer that has helped shield trade from the impact of the eurozone troubles. October exports were valued at 61.29 billion ringgit (US$20.08 billion), down from 63.35 billion ringgit in October last year, the trade ministry said.
TOURISM
Holiday group posts profit
French holiday group Club Mediterranee yesterday posted a stable net profit of 2 million euros (US$2.6 million) for its reporting year this year, despite a slowdown in its main market in Europe as it continued to target developing markets. The travel and leisure specialist, which returned to profitability last year, said that given the uncertain outlook for the European economy it would not pay a dividend.
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