■ Electronics
Nikon focuses on digital
Major Japanese camera maker Nikon Corp plans to discontinue its 35mm compact film camera operations in Japan and focus on digital cameras, a report said Thursday. The company aims to boost profitability by focusing on the higher growth digital field, the Nihon Keizai Shimbun said, quoting company sources. A Nikon spokesman said no official decision has been taken but acknowledged film camera sales were shrinking. "It is a fact that the film camera business is shrinking worldwide. Volume sales are also falling but for the time being, we will continue our film camera operations," he said. Global shipments of compact film cameras fell below expectations in the first half to September, dropping to 440,000 from a target of 500,000 units.
■ Trade
China's surplus grows
China's monthly trade surplus swelled to its biggest so far this year last month when exports to the rest of the world surged 36.7 percent, US Customs said yesterday. The surplus ballooned to US$5.74 billion, well above September's US$290 million, potentially triggering renewed criticism from China's trading partners, particularly the US. Some US lawmakers blame job losses in the manufacturing sector on China's fixed exchange rate regime which they blame for an undervalued yuan currency giving the world's fifth largest trading nation an unfair trade advantage. Chinese exports hit US$40.93 billion in October and imports rose an annual 39.7 percent to US$35.19 billion, Customs said on its Web site. In the January to October period, exports rose 32.8 percent over a year earlier to US$348.6 billion while imports were up 40.4 percent at US$333.73 billion.
■ Semiconductors
Chip sales to rise 20%
Worldwide computer-chip sales will rise 20 percent next year to the highest level since 2000, market researcher Gartner Inc said. Sales of almost US$210 billion next year will be the highest since US$222 billion in 2000, Gartner said in a statement. Sales will rise 12 percent this year, to US$174 billion. Chipmakers Texas Instruments Inc and Intel Corp have said sales will rise more than 20 percent this quarter as a three-year slump in personal-computer sales ends and demand in Europe increases. Consumers buying PCs, MP3 audio players and mobile phones with features such as a camera have increased chip sales. Semiconductor stockpiles have fallen to "near ideal levels" after years of declining sales caused rising supplies. Manufacturers also are starting to use more factory capacity.
■ Credit cards
Visa adds new charges
Visa USA Inc told member banks it would charge a large fee only to banks that want to issue debit cards under MasterCard International Inc's brand instead of Visa, the Wall Street Journal reported on its Web site. Visa initially also wanted to apply the fee to banks that switched to debit cards from American Express Co and Morgan Stanley's Discover unit, the newspaper said. It's restricting the policy to defections to MasterCard to satisfy antitrust concerns from the Justice Department, the newspaper said, citing a memo that Paul Allen, Visa's general counsel, sent to member banks. MasterCard maintains it's incorrect that the Justice Department's concerns have been alleviated by Visa's restricting the exit fees only to banks who switch to MasterCard.
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