■E-commerce
Company fined for spam
A Danish company was convicted and fined Thursday for sending unsolicited commercial e-mail, known as spam, the first such case in the Scandinavian country of 5.3 million. The Maritime and Commercial Court in Copenhagen fined Fonn Danmark 15,000 kroner (US$2,206) for sending 156 unsolicited commercial e-mails during 2002. The small software company was convicted of violating Denmark's law prohibiting the sending of unsolicited advertising e-mail and faxes. The law was enacted in July 2000. The ruling can be appealed. No one at Fonn Danmark was immediately available for comment. Denmark's government-run Consumer Agency sued the company after it received 50 complaints.
■ Employment
Jobless at eight-year high
The US unemployment rate probably approached an eight-year high in April as the economy lost jobs for a third consecutive month, economists said in advance of today's government report. Companies likely eliminated 60,000 jobs last month, based on the median of 67 forecasts in a Bloomberg News survey, bringing the three-month decline to 525,000. The unemployment rate is forecast to have risen a tenth of a percent to 5.9 percent, close to the eight-year high of 6 percent reached in December. Companies and government agencies have cut payrolls to control costs, prompted by rising budget deficits and weak demand linked partly to concerns about the Iraq war and terrorism.
■ Finance
Relocation study released
US banks, brokers, insurance and other financial groups plan to move 500,000 jobs overseas in the next five years, with India the most enticing target, a study showed Thursday. Relocations were expected to save 30 billion dollars a year in operating costs, said the study by management consulting firm A.T. Kearney. The firm issued its own ranking of countries already hosting multinationals and offering mature technology, a skilled labor force, expectations of future development and scope for expansion. They were ranked according to cost, environment and people. India was selected as the best choice for offshore business processing, followed by Canada, Brazil, Mexico, Philippines, Hungary, Ireland, Czech Republic, Australia, Russia and China.
■ Aviation
JAL, ANA get financial aid
The state-run Development Bank of Japan (DBJ) said yesterday it is considering giving emergency financial aid to the country's two major airlines to ease the impact of SARS and the Iraq war. The DBJ said any aid for Japan Airlines System (JAL) and All Nippon Airways (ANA) would be in the form of low interest loans, but it did not give a figure on the amount and there was no indication of the time frame for such a move. In April, JAL passenger numbers were down more than 30 percent, or more than 300,000 people, while numbers in March were down 14 percent, or some 150,000 passengers, said JAL group spokesman Yuji Fujita. In announcing its annual results Wednesday, Japan's second-ranked carrier ANA said its revenue would be cut by Japanese Yen 26 billion (US$218.5 million) in the year to next March. Both major Japanese carriers said they would increase regular domestic fares by 11 percent starting in July to deal with the passenger drop.
Agencies
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source
SHOT IN THE ARM: The new system can be integrated with Avenger and Stinger missiles to bolster regional air defense capabilities, a defense ministry report said Domestically developed Land Sword II (陸射劍二) missiles were successfully launched and hit target drones during a live-fire exercise at the Jiupeng Military Base in Pingtung County yesterday. The missiles, developed by the Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology (CSIST), were originally scheduled to launch on Tuesday last week, after the Tomb Sweeping Day holiday long weekend, but were postponed to yesterday due to weather conditions. Local residents and military enthusiasts gathered outside the base to watch the missile tests, with the first one launching at 9:10am. The Land Sword II system, which is derived from the Sky Sword II (天劍二) series, was turned