■ Stocks
Citigroup says buy Asian
Stocks in Japan and the rest of Asia are undervalued and global investors should buy shares of Nippon Telegraph & Telephone Corp and Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd, according to Citigroup Inc. Stocks in Japan and Asia excluding Japan are "very cheap" and underpriced by 39 percent and 38 percent on a price-to-book basis, Ajay Kapur, New York-based head of global strategy at Citigroup, wrote in a note to clients dated Monday. Japanese shares are the cheapest among global stocks, according to Kapur. Shares trade at an average of 1.77 times book value, below the "fair value" of 2.91, based on the firm's estimates. Japanese stocks in 17 of 24 industry groups, including telecommunications, banks and software are considered a "buy." In the rest of Asia, 12 of 24 industry groups, such as consumer durables, technology hardware and travel and leisure, are rated ``buy,'' according to the firm.
■ Fraud
Card cancellations urged
South African police are warning those who have used their credit cards with online auction house eBay to cancel them as a precaution, media in South Africa reported yesterday. Police issued the warning after it was discovered that members of a Nigerian syndicate had arrived in Germany in possession of eBay databases. An informant handed parts of the of the databases over to the authorities. They contained more than 100,000 credit card numbers as well as personal information on individuals, This Day newspaper reported. South Africa has not confirmed the number of people affected. The newspaper quoted Inspector Rian Visser as saying that "Not all the databases were recovered though, and we are asking other South Africans to cancel their cards if they dealt with eBay."
■ Technology
Tunes for mobile phones
Music listeners will soon be able to transfer songs they buy from Apple Computer Inc's iTunes music store to Motorola Inc mobile phones. The companies announced plans late Monday for Apple to create a new iTunes mobile music player that can transfer songs to Motorola mass market mobile phones. Customers of iTunes can buy and share individual songs from a set list. The new service will enable users to transfer songs from their computers to Motorola mobile handsets with a USB port or Bluetooth wireless connection. The service is expected to become available in the first half of next year.
■ Airlines
Jetstar aims for 10% share
Jetstar, the discount carrier started by Qantas Airways Ltd, is unlikely to win back market share grabbed by Virgin Blue Holdings Ltd during the past four years, the unit's CEO Alan Joyce said. Qantas, Australia's largest airline, started Jetstar in May to rival Virgin Blue, which has expanded its fleet by 40 percent in the past year and taken about 30 percent of the domestic air-travel market. ``We think market share will stay fairly similar to the way it is today, with the Qantas group maintaining a 65 percent share, which is the line in the sand'' that Qantas chief executive officer Geoff Dixon set, Joyce said in an interview. The discount airline is aiming to have 10 percent of the market by the end of the year, Joyce said. Qantas and Jetstar will add planes during the next two years and will probably match Virgin Blue's rate of expansion, he said.
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
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