■ Semiconductors
Equipment orders rise
North American companies that sell equipment used to build semiconductors had a gain in orders last month from August, Semiconduc-tor Equipment and Mate-rials International said in a statement. The book-to-bill ratio for North American chip-tool makers was 0.95 last month, indicating that US$95 in orders were made for every US$100 in sales, the trade group said in a statement. The three-month average of worldwide book-ings last month was $760.5 million, up 3.9 percent from $731.8 million in August. Orders were 8.5 percent below the $832 million posted in September last year, the group said.
■ Robotics
Global sales rise 26%
Increased sales of industrial robots in North America and Europe have revived the global market for the machines, a UN report said. The annual World Robotics Survey, released yesterday, said a 26 percent rise in business orders coincides with an increase in the number of robots used around the home mow lawns and vacuum floors. The report said 80,000 robots were sold between January and June. Orders for new factory robots rose 35 percent in North America and 25 percent in Europe, compen-sating for a decline in Japan.
■ Manufacturing
3M profits jump 22%
Favorable currency factors helped 3M Corp show a 22 percent jump in third quar-ter earnings to US$663 million compared with a year ago, the company said on Monday. It posted a profit per share of US$0.83, better than the US$0.79 expected on Wall Street. Revenues increased 11.4 percent to US$4.616 billion. It boosted its outlook for the fourth quarter
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