■ Computers
Dell cuts some prices
Dell Inc has cut prices by as much as 22 percent on select computer equipment for US corporate and insti-tutional customers, saying it was passing along savings from lower component prices. The Texas-based company said the lower prices are only for select servers, workstations, desk-tops and notebooks for corporate and institutional clients, not consumers.
Dell spokesman Tom Kehoe said the timing of the price cuts close to Christmas
was coincidental. Dell has
a long history of passing along savings to customers when part prices drop, said Tim Bajarin, an analyst with Creative Strategies. Dell
has about 13 percent of
the global computer market and employs about 53,000.
■ Semiconductors
Intel recovers from errors
Intel Corp chief executive Craig Barrett said on Tues-day the company has "recovered" from product missteps that plagued the chip maker during the first half of the year. "I think the machine is firing on all eight cylinders in terms of pro-duct introductions," Barrett said during the company's analyst meeting, which was broadcast over the Internet.
Throughout the year, Intel has struggled from making the wrong bets on micro-processor production to failing to meet delivery schedules. Barrett said Intel still sees an "immense growth opportunity" in the communications market and has "fully recovered" from the pricing missteps in its memory business.
■ Crime
China Aviation boss seized
Singaporean police arrested the chief executive of China Aviation Oil's (中國航油) subsidiary yesterday, following the company's announcement last week
of massive trading losses. Chen Jiulin (陳久霖) returned from China early yesterday and was placed under arrest, officials said. Last week the company said it had lost US$550 million
on derivatives trading, forcing it to seek court protection from creditors. Court docu-ments show that the parent company, state-linked China Aviation Oil Holding Co, knew about the losses when it sold a big stake in the Singapore-listed trader, prompting accusa-tions of insider trading.
■ Semiconductors
TI raises 4Q forecast
Texas Instruments fine-tuned its forecast for fourth-quarter sales and profits
on Tuesday while staying within the boundaries of
its previous forecasts. It said it would earn US$0.25 to US$0.27 per share, in line with the US$0.26 per share forecast of analysts sur-veyed by Thomson First Call. In October, the com-pany predicted fourth-quarter profit of US$0.24
to US$0.28 per share. It also said it expected sales between US$3.02 billion
and US$3.14 billion -- the mid-point of its less-precise forecast of US$2.96 billion to US$3.20 billion.
■ Retail
Wal-Mart eyes Daiei
Wal-Mart Stores is among the potential suitors for cash-strapped Japanese supermarket chain Daiei Inc, which is undergoing government-guided rehabili-tation, while the US retail giant hopes to grow in the world's second largest retail market. A Wal-Mart spokes-woman in Tokyo confirmed yesterday that the retailer remains interested in Daiei. Wal-Mart is interested in international growth and will look at opportunities, she said, while refusing to elaborate. Wal-Mart Stores, the world's largest retailer, has a 37.3 percent stake in Japanese retailer Seiyu Ltd.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique