■ Labor
Japan's jobless rate falls
Japan's jobless rate last month fell to 4.9 percent, down from 5.2 percent from the previous month, the government said yesterday. The unemployment rate for men dropped to 5.0 percent, down 0.4 points from a month earlier, while for women it fell 0.3 points to 4.7 percent, the Ministry of Public Management, Home Affairs, Posts and Telecommunications said. The number of people without jobs totaled 3.0 million, down 310,000 from a year earlier, marking the seventh straight month of decline, the ministry said. In a separate report, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare said the ratio of job offers to job seekers last month rose 0.04 points to 0.78. The ratio means that there were 78 vacancies for every 100 job applicants.
■ Reconstructionbr />
Iraq trust fund established
The World Bank on Thursday established a trust fund for Iraq that will be used to finance its reconstruction. The institution planned to finance its first projects in Iraq in the coming weeks, including technical aid programs such as the training of government officials in accounting and financial planning. According to the bank's Iraq director, Joseph Saba, the US has so far contributed US$10 million for the fund and other countries have signaled their readiness to contribute although Saba would not give exact amounts for their pledges. In the autumn, the World Bank estimated Iraq's reconstruction needs at US$55 billion. About US$32 billion was pledged at a donors conference in Madrid. How much money would flow through the trust fund and how much would go to Iraq directly from the donors remained unclear.
■ Credit
Bank issues AmEx cards
American Express cards will be issued for the first time by a US bank, the company and MBNA said Thursday, moving into territory dominated by Visa and Mastercard. The credit card deal is the first US alliance for American Express since a rule change last year forcing major card alliances Mastercard and Visa to allow banks issuing those cards to also strike deals with American Express. MBNA will issue AmEx cards in the US, Britain, Canada and Spain, according to the statement. "Today's news marks a fundamental change in the US credit card industry and we believe it will lead to better value and greater choice for consumers," said Ken Chenault, chairman and chief executive of American Express. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. The statement said the cards will carry the American Express logo and will be accepted on the American Express merchant network.
■ Electronics
Gateway loss widens
Gateway Inc saw its fourth-quarter losses widen because of a sharp sales drop and charges related to its makeover from personal computer maker to consumer electronics company. Gateway posted a loss of US$111.3 million, or US$0.35 a share, compared with US$69.2 million, or US$0.22 a share, for the same period a year earlier. The latest period, which marked Gateway's 12th loss in 13 quarters, included charges of US$41 million for restructuring and a tax provision of US$24 million. Revenue declined 17 percent to US$875.1 million from US$1.06 billion despite a raft of new flat-panel televisions, cameras, music players and other gadgets that the company hoped would validate its gamble to become a consumer electronics company.
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
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
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