■ Telecoms
Ericsson exceeds forecasts
Swedish telecommuni-cations equipment maker Ericsson reported yesterday second-quarter profit that smashed market forecasts, driven by stellar margins. Ericsson posted net profit of 5.90 billion kronor (US$ 790,104) in the April to May period, compared with a loss of 2.728 billion kronor in the same period last year. Pretax profit amounted to 7.83 billion kronor, up from a loss of 3.585 billion in the same period a year earlier and well above average market expectations of 5.360 billion. The gross margin was 47.8 percent in the second quarter, com-pared with 35.1 percent in the same period last year, and well above analysts' expectations of 44.8 percent. Second-quarter sales came in at 32.6 billion kronor, up from 27.613 billion. Orders increased to 33.1 billion from 28.3 billion.
■ Technology
China getting online fast
The number of Internet users in China has risen 28 percent over the past year to 87 million, and use of broadband and online commerce is soaring, the government said yesterday. The number of broadband subscribers has jumped 78.7 percent in the past six months to 31.1 million, the China Internet Network Information Center said on its Web site. China says it already has the world's second-biggest online population after the US. China aggressively pro-motes Internet use for business and education, despite an average annual income of less than US$1,000 per person. At the same time, the government tries to crush attempts to use the Internet to spread criticism of authoritarian rule, imprisoning activists for posting political material online. According to the Network Information Center, a survey found that 58 percent of Chinese Internet users planned to start shopping online in the coming year.
■ Credit-Card Debt
Joblessness drives defaults
Unemployment is the main cause of credit-card pay-ment default in Singapore, not a change in spending habits, a study by Visa International said yesterday. Singaporeans now spend more on credit cards, but have increased repayments correspondingly. Nearly 40 percent of outstanding balances on cards between September and December of last year were repaid without incurring interest, the highest since 1999. The correlation between the default and delinquency rates with unemployment "indicates that the lift in the default rates in recent times has been driven by the economic cycle rather than a fundamental change in cardholder behavior," the Visa report said. The unemployment rate rose to a high of 5.5 percent last September amid a spate of layoffs, but fell to 4.5 percent in March.
■ Telecommuting
US numbers increasing
Some 44 million US workers will be telecommuting, or working from home at least on a part-time basis this year, according to a survey released this week. The survey by In-Stat/MDR released on Monday pro-jects the number of tele-commuters is expected to grow by 2008 to 51 million, with 14 million working full-time at home. The report notes that the rise has fueled growth in broadband by home users. "Companies too are supporting this movement, with some firms going so far as to sub-sidizing the equipment and service expense to allow their employees to work from home," the research firm noted.
NO HUMAN ERROR: After the incident, the Coast Guard Administration said it would obtain uncrewed aerial vehicles and vessels to boost its detection capacity Authorities would improve border control to prevent unlawful entry into Taiwan’s waters and safeguard national security, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday after a Chinese man reached the nation’s coast on an inflatable boat, saying he “defected to freedom.” The man was found on a rubber boat when he was about to set foot on Taiwan at the estuary of Houkeng River (後坑溪) near Taiping Borough (太平) in New Taipei City’s Linkou District (林口), authorities said. The Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) northern branch said it received a report at 6:30am yesterday morning from the New Taipei City Fire Department about a
IN BEIJING’S FAVOR: A China Coast Guard spokesperson said that the Chinese maritime police would continue to carry out law enforcement activities in waters it claims The Philippines withdrew its coast guard vessel from a South China Sea shoal that has recently been at the center of tensions with Beijing. BRP Teresa Magbanua “was compelled to return to port” from Sabina Shoal (Xianbin Shoal, 仙濱暗沙) due to bad weather, depleted supplies and the need to evacuate personnel requiring medical care, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesman Jay Tarriela said yesterday in a post on X. The Philippine vessel “will be in tiptop shape to resume her mission” after it has been resupplied and repaired, Philippine Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, who heads the nation’s maritime council, said
REGIONAL STABILITY: Taipei thanked the Biden administration for authorizing its 16th sale of military goods and services to uphold Taiwan’s defense and safety The US Department of State has approved the sale of US$228 million of military goods and services to Taiwan, the US Department of Defense said on Monday. The state department “made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale” to the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the US for “return, repair and reshipment of spare parts and related equipment,” the defense department’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency said in a news release. Taiwan had requested the purchase of items and services which include the “return, repair and reshipment of classified and unclassified spare parts for aircraft and related equipment; US Government
More than 500 people on Saturday marched in New York in support of Taiwan’s entry to the UN, significantly more people than previous years. The march, coinciding with the ongoing 79th session of the UN General Assembly, comes close on the heels of growing international discourse regarding the meaning of UN Resolution 2758. Resolution 2758, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1971, recognizes the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as the “only lawful representative of China.” It resulted in the Republic of China (ROC) losing its seat at the UN to the PRC. Taiwan has since been excluded from