■ Electronics
HP, Apple team up
Hewlett-Packard and Apple Computer announced plans Thursday to team on a new digital music player that carries HP's name and is based on Apple's iPod technology. HP also said it would ship its consumer notebooks and desktop computers with pre-installed versions of Apple iTunes jukebox software and an icon that points them to the iTunes online music store. The announcement was made at the Consumer Electronic Show in Las Vegas. "HP's goal is to bring the most compelling entertainment content and experiences to our customers," said Carly Fiorina, chairman and chief executive officer at HP. "We explored a range of alternatives to deliver a great digital music experience and concluded Apple's iPod music player and iTunes music service were the best by far.
■ Retail Sales
Holiday figures released
The just-ended US holiday season was the strongest for US chain stores since 1999, with November to December combined up by 4 percent, according to a survey released Thursday. The survey by the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) said that the results varied by category but were roughly in line with forecasts. "Despite the weather-related delays and consumer procrastination, the last minute surge in spending gave retailers their strongest holiday season since 1999," said Michael Niemira, ICSC's chief economist and director of research. "Though the results were mixed by category, the overall outcome to the season was consistent with our expectations." Last month was strongest for the 77 chain stores in the survey, with same-store sales of 91.4 billion for the month, up 4.2 percent from a year earlier.
■ Trade
Chinese exports surge
China's exports grew 51 percent from a year earlier last month, their fastest pace in more than eight years, as factories accelerated shipments to the US, Europe and Japan before tax rebates were cut at the start of this month. Overseas sales rose to a record US$48 billion after climbing 34 percent in November, the commerce ministry said on its Web site in Beijing. The trade surplus for the month was US$5.73 billion, close to October's record high of US$5.74 billion. Surging exports are helping China's economy, the world's sixth-largest, grow fastest among the top 10. They're also prompting some US manufacturers to call for sanctions on Chinese goods. Exports accelerated at the end of last year after the government promised to cut exporters' tax-bill rebates on Jan. 1 to an average 13 percent from as much as 17 percent.
■ Automobiles
GM to improve profitability
General Motors Corp said Thursday it aims to improve the profitability of its core automotive operations this year, and grow market share in all regions. GM's chief financial officer John Devine said the automaker is shooting for earnings of between US$6 and US$6.50 per share this year, and is looking to generate five billion dollars in operating cash flow. The earnings target exceeds Wall Street's estimate, which a panel of analysts polled by First Call pegged at US$5.79 per share. The milestone is "based on aggressive cost targets and projected higher volumes," Devine told a gathering of Wall Street analysts here. "We expect to benefit from the improving economic environment and a strong product cadence."
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
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft