■Retailing
Kmart recast as urban store
Kmart Corp emerged from bankruptcy yesterday as a smaller and more urban-based merchant, ending the largest reorganization by a US retailer almost 16 months after seeking protection from creditors. Kmart, the No. 3 US discounter, formalized an agreement with creditors that leaves ESL Investments Inc, the hedge fund run by Edward Lampert, as its largest investor with about a 50 percent stake. The company won court approval two weeks ago for the reorganization plan that erased US$7.8 billion in debt. The retailer slashed about 57,000 jobs while closing 599, or one third, of its stores. Many of the outlets Kmart is left with are in or near older urban areas after it failed to compete with bigger rivals Wal-Mart Stores Inc and Target Corp in suburban and rural locations.
■ IPR protection
Communists purge piracy
More than 48,000 fake music, video and computer discs and over 1,200 books have been destroyed in Hanoi in a purge against piracy, Vietnamese officials said yesterday. A further 6,000 "illegally printed products" ranging from calendars to banners were burnt as the VCDs, DVDs, CDs and CD-Roms were ground into pieces and then cere-moniously crushed by a steamroller. Of the books destroyed, 210 contained "bad content" and 1,015 "superstitious content." The communist government still remains suspicious about pagan and other traditional beliefs, fearing they could undermine its power. Pirated goods, ranging from designer luggage to computer soft-ware, are widely available for sale in Vietnam despite repeated warnings from the World Bank about the negative impact on foreign investment.
■ Free trade
WTO approves sanctions
The EU yesterday was due to get the final go-ahead to hit the US with a record US$4.04 billion worth of trade sanctions in a long-running row over tax breaks for major exporting firms, diplomats said. The WTO was set to approve a detailed list of products against which the EU can retaliate, clearing the last hurdle to the levying of the punitive duties which the Geneva-based trade referee had agreed last August. Under WTO rules, authorization by the organization's Dispute Settlement Body yesterday afternoon is effectively automatic -- it would need a unanimous decision of all 146 WTO members, including the EU, to block it, diplomats noted. However, the EU says it will not use the new powers as long as the US government and Congress make progress on reforming a system it says gives US firms an unfair trade advantage.
■ Automotive
Yamaha's profits increase
Yamaha Motor Corp's second-half profit rose almost seven times because of cost cuts and more sales of two-wheelers and all-terrain vehicles in the US and Asia. Group net income for Yamaha, the world's second-largest motorbike maker, jumped to Japanese Yen 14.1 billion (US$120 million) in the six months to March 31, from Japanese Yen 2.05 billion a year earlier. Sales rose 8.6 percent to Japanese Yen 487.2 billion, from Japanese Yen 448.5 billion. Second-half figures were derived by subtracting first-half results from those for the full year. Yamaha plans to trim total costs 30 percent. The company will rely more on sales of smaller, cheaper bikes in Southeast Asia and China as demand in the US, its most profitable market, slows and the yen strengthens against the US dollar.
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
BULLY TACTICS: Beijing has continued its incursions into Taiwan’s airspace even as Xi Jinping talked about Taiwan being part of the Chinese family and nation China should stop its coercion of Taiwan and respect mainstream public opinion in Taiwan about sovereignty if its expression of goodwill is genuine, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said yesterday. Ministry spokesman Jeff Liu (劉永健) made the comment in response to media queries about a meeting between former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) the previous day. Ma voiced support for the so-called “1992 consensus,” while Xi said that although the two sides of the Taiwan Strait have “different systems,” this does not change the fact that they are “part of the same country,” and that “external
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