■ Stock markets
IBM to exit Tokyo exchange
IBM Corp, the world's biggest computer company, said it will voluntarily withdraw from the Tokyo Stock Exchange, citing cost considerations. IBM, based in Armonk, New York, is reconsidering its listings on stock exchanges worldwide, the company said in a release distributed to the Tokyo exchange. The company last year withdrew from the Frankfurt, Swiss and Vienna stock exchanges.
■ Electronics
Fast battery announced
Leading Japanese electronics maker Toshiba said yesterday it has developed a light and thin prototype battery that recharges 80 percent of capacity in just a minute. The development "makes long recharge times a thing of the past," the company said in a statement, noting one minute is roughly 60 times faster than typical lithium-ion batteries. The new battery measures 62mm by 35mm and is 3.8mm thick. It also has a long life, losing only 1 percent of capacity after 1,000 cycles of discharging and recharging and can operate at temperatures as low as minus 40 degrees Celsius, it said. Toshiba will put the new battery to commercial products next year.
■ Marketing
McDonald's lures rap artists
Rap artists are accustomed to name-checking prestige car, clothing and jewelry brands in their lyrics. But if McDonald's has its way Snoop Dogg, Jay-Z and 50 Cent may soon be giving it up for the humble beef burger. The fast-food giant is reported to be launching a campaign that will offer financial incentives to rap artists who mention its Big Mac burger in their lyrics. McDonald's will not pay an upfront fee, but intends to pay the artist between US$1 and US$5 each time a track is played on the radio. The company hopes to have several such songs on the airwaves by the summer.
■ Textiles
China's exports skyrocket
Chinese clothing exports into the US and Europe soared last month, the second month after the end of international quotas, a situation that might fuel efforts by trade groups to request limits, the Wall Street Journal said, citing numbers from China's General Administration of Customs. That month, apparel exported to the US rose 147 percent over the same month a year ago, to US$650 million, according to the newspaper. In Europe, textile exports rose to US$783 million, a 188 percent increase, the Journal said. Countries that also produce garments say that their businesses can't compete with Chinese wages, the newspaper reported. In Madagascar, about 5,000 industry jobs have been lost so far this year, the Journal said.
■ Entertainment
Case won't affect offerings
The music and film industries will continue to offer digital copies of songs and movies online for a price even if they lose a landmark Supreme Court case focusing on consumers who steal copyrighted material over the Internet, those industries' chief lobbyists said on Monday. "Consumers want a legal, hassle-free, reasonable-cost way to get their products online," said Dan Glickman, head of the Motion Picture Association of America. "There's no question you'll see a lot more opportunity for people in their homes to enjoy music and movies and other creative material."
NO-LIMITS PARTNERSHIP: ‘The bottom line’ is that if the US were to have a conflict with China or Russia it would likely open up a second front with the other, a US senator said Beijing and Moscow could cooperate in a conflict over Taiwan, the top US intelligence chief told the US Senate this week. “We see China and Russia, for the first time, exercising together in relation to Taiwan and recognizing that this is a place where China definitely wants Russia to be working with them, and we see no reason why they wouldn’t,” US Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines told a US Senate Committee on Armed Services hearing on Thursday. US Senator Mike Rounds asked Haines about such a potential scenario. He also asked US Defense Intelligence Agency Director Lieutenant General Jeffrey Kruse
INSPIRING: Taiwan has been a model in the Asia-Pacific region with its democratic transition, free and fair elections and open society, the vice president-elect said Taiwan can play a leadership role in the Asia-Pacific region, vice president-elect Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) told a forum in Taipei yesterday, highlighting the nation’s resilience in the face of geopolitical challenges. “Not only can Taiwan help, but Taiwan can lead ... not only can Taiwan play a leadership role, but Taiwan’s leadership is important to the world,” Hsiao told the annual forum hosted by the Center for Asia-Pacific Resilience and Innovation think tank. Hsiao thanked Taiwan’s international friends for their long-term support, citing the example of US President Joe Biden last month signing into law a bill to provide aid to Taiwan,
China’s intrusive and territorial claims in the Indo-Pacific region are “illegal, coercive, aggressive and deceptive,” new US Indo-Pacific Commander Admiral Samuel Paparo said on Friday, adding that he would continue working with allies and partners to keep the area free and open. Paparo made the remarks at a change-of-command ceremony at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Hawaii, where he took over the command from Admiral John Aquilino. “Our world faces a complex problem set in the troubling actions of the People’s Republic of China [PRC] and its rapid buildup of forces. We must be ready to answer the PRC’s increasingly intrusive and
STATE OF THE NATION: The legislature should invite the president to deliver an address every year, the TPP said, adding that Lai should also have to answer legislators’ questions The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday proposed inviting president-elect William Lai (賴清德) to make a historic first state of the nation address at the legislature following his inauguration on May 20. Lai is expected to face many domestic and international challenges, and should clarify his intended policies with the public’s representatives, KMT caucus secretary-general Hung Meng-kai (洪孟楷) said when making the proposal at a meeting of the legislature’s Procedure Committee. The committee voted to add the item to the agenda for Friday, along with another similar proposal put forward by the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP). The invitation is in line with Article 15-2