■ Computers
Japan warns Microsoft
Microsoft Corp, the world's largest software maker, faces a warning from Japan's Fair Trade Commission on the terms of contracts it concludes with buyers of its Windows operating system, the commission said. The regulator told the US software company not to seek to ban legal action by personal computer makers that install Windows in their products, it said at a press briefing in Tokyo. The commission said it began a probe of Microsoft's contracts with Windows buyers in February. Microsoft is required to respond to the warning by July 26, the commission said.
■ Electronics
Philips rakes in cash
The Dutch consumer electronics giant Philips recorded earnings of 616 million euros (US$762 million) in the second quarter of this year, over 14 times the profit made in the same period last year, the company said yesterday. The group said the strong earnings, up from only 42 million euros in the second three months of last year, were in part due to a strong performance in the semiconductor sector. Net earnings per share stood at 0.48 euros, against 0.03 euros in the same period last year. Philips' second-quarter turnover stood at 7.28 billion euros for the period, an increase of 11 percent on last year's figure.
■ China
Inept lenders warned
The central bank chief has called for poorly managed lenders to be allowed to fail as part of reforms to the country's ailing banking system, state press reported yesterday. "The existence of poorly run financial institutions is the biggest threat to our financial stability," the Shenzhen Securities Times quoted People's Bank of China governor Zhou Xiaochun (周小川) as saying. "There haven't been many closures or bankruptcies -- our reforms have not been successful," Zhou said, adding that Beijing needs to avoid the moral hazard of repeated government bailouts for ailing institutions.
■ Electronics
IPods selling well
Apple Computer Inc, the maker of Macintosh personal computers, had worldwide sales of its iPod and iPod mini music players reach 3 million units as of last month, said Tatsuya Konishi, an Apple product manager, at a Tokyo conference. The iPod mini, a smaller version of Apple's iPod player, holds 1,000 songs. The device comes in five colors and has a chargeable battery life of 8 hours. Apple's iPod mini digital music players will sell for 28,140 yen (US$260) in Japan, according to the company's Web site. Shipments for iPod, including the mini, surged to 807,000 in the quarter that ended in March from 80,000 a year earlier.
■ China
Overseas investment up
Overseas investment into China rose 11.99 percent to US$33.9 billion in the first half of the year as investors remained buoyant on the prospects of the world's fastest growing economy, figures showed yesterday. Contracted foreign direct investment, a measure of future business, was up 42.66 percent to US$72.7 billion, China's Ministry of Commerce said on its Web site. The increase in actual investment was 10.55 percentage points higher than the growth rate reported for last year but far lower than the 34.33 percent growth seen in the first half of last year.
NO-LIMITS PARTNERSHIP: ‘The bottom line’ is that if the US were to have a conflict with China or Russia it would likely open up a second front with the other, a US senator said Beijing and Moscow could cooperate in a conflict over Taiwan, the top US intelligence chief told the US Senate this week. “We see China and Russia, for the first time, exercising together in relation to Taiwan and recognizing that this is a place where China definitely wants Russia to be working with them, and we see no reason why they wouldn’t,” US Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines told a US Senate Committee on Armed Services hearing on Thursday. US Senator Mike Rounds asked Haines about such a potential scenario. He also asked US Defense Intelligence Agency Director Lieutenant General Jeffrey Kruse
INSPIRING: Taiwan has been a model in the Asia-Pacific region with its democratic transition, free and fair elections and open society, the vice president-elect said Taiwan can play a leadership role in the Asia-Pacific region, vice president-elect Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) told a forum in Taipei yesterday, highlighting the nation’s resilience in the face of geopolitical challenges. “Not only can Taiwan help, but Taiwan can lead ... not only can Taiwan play a leadership role, but Taiwan’s leadership is important to the world,” Hsiao told the annual forum hosted by the Center for Asia-Pacific Resilience and Innovation think tank. Hsiao thanked Taiwan’s international friends for their long-term support, citing the example of US President Joe Biden last month signing into law a bill to provide aid to Taiwan,
China’s intrusive and territorial claims in the Indo-Pacific region are “illegal, coercive, aggressive and deceptive,” new US Indo-Pacific Commander Admiral Samuel Paparo said on Friday, adding that he would continue working with allies and partners to keep the area free and open. Paparo made the remarks at a change-of-command ceremony at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Hawaii, where he took over the command from Admiral John Aquilino. “Our world faces a complex problem set in the troubling actions of the People’s Republic of China [PRC] and its rapid buildup of forces. We must be ready to answer the PRC’s increasingly intrusive and
STATE OF THE NATION: The legislature should invite the president to deliver an address every year, the TPP said, adding that Lai should also have to answer legislators’ questions The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday proposed inviting president-elect William Lai (賴清德) to make a historic first state of the nation address at the legislature following his inauguration on May 20. Lai is expected to face many domestic and international challenges, and should clarify his intended policies with the public’s representatives, KMT caucus secretary-general Hung Meng-kai (洪孟楷) said when making the proposal at a meeting of the legislature’s Procedure Committee. The committee voted to add the item to the agenda for Friday, along with another similar proposal put forward by the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP). The invitation is in line with Article 15-2