■ Price Fixing
Infineon staffers to be jailed
Three German citizens and an American have agreed to serve jail time and each pay a US$250,000 fine as part of a wide-ranging federal investi-gation into price fixing in the computer memory market, the US Justice Department said on Thursday. All four defendants were executives in 2001 and 2002 at Infineon Technologies, a German computer chip maker that prosecutors said had conspired with competitors during that time to fix prices in the multibillion-dollar market for computer memory. Three of the Infineon executives are German citizens -- Heinrich Florian, Gunter Hefner and Peter Schaefer -- all of whom worked in sales and marketing for the company's memory division. Rudd Corwin, an American, also worked in sales and marketing. A spokesman for the North American division of Infineon, Christoph Liedtke, said one executive had left the company, one was leaving and two remained but have been reassigned. Liedtke declined to specify which executives remained with Infineon.
■ Retail
Carrefour might quit Japan
Carrefour SA of France, the world's second-largest retailer, is considering leaving the Japanese market by selling its eight stores in two regional blocs, a report said yesterday. Carrefour had asked the world's top retailer, Wal-Mart Stores Inc, and Japan's largest supermarket operator, Aeon Co, about buying all of its eight stores, but the deals fell through over the price and other terms, the Nihon Keizai Shimbun reported, citing unnamed sources. Now Carrefour is considering selling the stores as two groups according to their regional locations: three based in the Tokyo metropolitan region and five in the Osaka area in western Japan, the paper said. Carrefour chairman Daniel Bernard said in September that the French retailer will pull out of money-losing operations and instead focus on the Chinese market as a new source of profit.
■ Computers
Dell wins US$700m deal
Dell Inc won a US$700 million order from Royal Philips Electronics NV to provide computers and services in 60 countries. The five-year agreement includes PCs, notebook computers and workstations for 75,000 people, said Bob Kaufman, spokesman for Dell. Euro-pean services companies Getronics NV and Atos Origin SA will work with Dell. The contract bolsters chief executive Kevin Rollins's plan to increase sales of services, which account for less than 10 percent of the company's annual revenue. Rollins is targeting International Business Machines Corp, which receives about half its revenue from services, and Hewlett-Packard Co, where services work is the No. 2 profit generator behind printers.
■ Retail
Wal-Mart touts low prices
Wal-Mart Stores Inc, the world's largest retailer, will start an advertising campaign that emphasizes the chain's low prices after the company reported that last month's sales rose less than forecast. The national print and radio campaign was to start yesterday and television spots will air next week, spokesman Gus Whitcomb said. The ads will focus on 24 products selling at reduced prices. November sales rose a less-than-forecast 0.7 percent after Wal-Mart reduced discounts during the Thanksgiving Day weekend, the traditional start of the holiday shopping season.
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
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
SHOT IN THE ARM: The new system can be integrated with Avenger and Stinger missiles to bolster regional air defense capabilities, a defense ministry report said Domestically developed Land Sword II (陸射劍二) missiles were successfully launched and hit target drones during a live-fire exercise at the Jiupeng Military Base in Pingtung County yesterday. The missiles, developed by the Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology (CSIST), were originally scheduled to launch on Tuesday last week, after the Tomb Sweeping Day holiday long weekend, but were postponed to yesterday due to weather conditions. Local residents and military enthusiasts gathered outside the base to watch the missile tests, with the first one launching at 9:10am. The Land Sword II system, which is derived from the Sky Sword II (天劍二) series, was turned