■ Energy
Crude oil prices rise
Crude oil prices inched upward yesterday amid traders' worries that OPEC producers may cut output again later this month. Prices for crude oil rose US$0.25 to US$45.68 a barrel in electronic trading afternoon in Asia. Heating oil prices also rose slightly to US$1.2900. Crude prices should hover within the US$45 range until OPEC's meeting at the end of this month, said Esa Ramasamy, oil editorial manager of energy reporting agency Platts. "Investors are getting skittish," Ramasamy said. OPEC members reduced production by 1 million barrels a day from the start this year to bring the cartel closer to its official output ceiling of 27 million barrels. Oil ministers from the organization said then that they were ready to reduce output again if needed when they meet at their Vienna headquarters on Jan. 30. On Wednesday, oil prices fell after a US government report showed larger-than-expected increases in winter fuel supplies, sending heating oil prices lower.
■ Electronics
Samsung has new MCP
Samsung Electronics, the world's largest computer chip maker, said yesterday it has developed the world's first eight-die multi-chip (MCP) package technology for use in high capacity mobile devices. Samsung said the new MCP solution offered a combined capacity of 3.2 gigabits in a package only 1.4mm thick, promising a new generation of cellphones and mobile devices offering more services and faster Internet surfing. "The new eight-chip MCP is an extremely compact, high-capacity solution that is likely to trigger development of new next-generation mobile applications," Samsung said in a statement. "It will provide much greater functionality in cellphones and other smart mobile devices, from movie videos to games as well as faster Internet access."
■ Unemployment
China expects 25m jobless
China says it expects 25 million of its people to be out of work this year, but the actual number of jobless in the world's most populous nation could be much higher. Some 11 million people, including 3.4 million univer-sity graduates, were expect-ed to enter the labor market this year, adding to the app-roximately 14 million unemp-loyed at the end of last year, the China Business Times said yesterday, citing figures from the State Development and Reform Commission. China's official unemploy-ment figure only covers registered urban jobless, and analysts say the true number of people without work could be more than twice the government estimate.
■ Tourism
Firm offers aid tour
An Auckland-based tour operator yesterday launched a vacation with a difference -- for tourists who want to help rebuild a Sri Lankan fishing village crushed by the Dec. 26 tsunami. The trip offers five days of sight-seeing and a minimum of four days of reconstruction for 25 people with trade skills, said Stephen Green-field, managing director of World Discovery Tours. "Many of them don't want to do any sightseeing. They just want to go straight to where the need is and get stuck into the work," Greenfield said. The trip is being organized without profit, with reduced airfares, cheap hotels and travel agents working for free, Greenfield said. Tickets are priced from NZ$2,300 to NZ$2,600 (US$1,598 to US$1,800). More than 50 people inquired yesterday about the first trip which departs on Jan. 20, 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
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft
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