■ Automakers
Ford shakes up managers
Ford Motor Co announced a major shakeup on Thursday in senior management ranks, marking the first step in the auto maker's plan to revive its sagging North American business. Mark Fields, executive vice president of Ford of Europe and the Premier Automotive Group -- made up of Jaguar, Volvo, Land Rover and Aston Martin brands -- has been promoted to the post of executive vice president of Ford and president for the Americas. He will now lead all of Ford's business operations in North and South America, including the US, Mexico and Canada. Fields has extensive experience within Ford's ranks when it comes to returning business units to profitability. He lead the recovery of Mazda in the late 1990s and worked to maintain the luxury status of Ford's Premiere Automotive Group brands.
■ Internet
Access to buy PalmSource
Japanese Internet technology provider Access said yesterday it had agreed to buy PalmSource, the US maker of software for mobile phones and devices, for about ?36 billion (US$324 million). Under the binding deal, Access will pay US$18.50 per share in cash for PalmSource, an 83 percent premium to the US firm's share price. The deal is expected to be completed by the end of the year. "PalmSource is a global leader in mobile device software and the developer of the well known Palm OS operating system," Access chief executive Toru Arakawa said in a statement.
■ Oil industry
IEA weighs in on Katrina
Hurricane Katrina is likely to curtail world oil production until the end of the year by 55 million barrels, about the same as Hurricane Ivan last year, the IEA estimated yesterday. Countries in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development are to meet on Thursday to review the post-hurricane supply situation and whether to increase, maintain or reduce emergency supply action, the agency said. "Hurricane Katrina has had a severe impact on US Gulf of Mexico supply and will likely affect production for several months to come," the IEA said. However, overall data show "world supply 2.0 million barrels a day above August 2004. OPEC crude stands 0.75 million barrels per day higher, OPEC other liquids supply is up 0.5 million barrels per day and non-OPEC supply is 0.75 million barrels up."
■ Securities
Merrill Lynch eyes alliances
Merrill Lynch & Co, the No. 2 securities firm by market value, may seek alliances or ventures with South Korean lenders to help sell more financial products to corporate clients, the bank's head of global markets said. Merrill, based in New York, wants to tap banks' customers across Asia's third-largest economy to sell derivatives and other financial services, Dow Kim, co-president of Merrill Lynch's Global Markets & Investment Banking Group, told reporters in Seoul. Merrill yesterday received an extended derivatives trading license, allowing the securities firm to offer won-denominated interest rate swaps and other complex products, Kim said. The license will enable it to offer diversified products in Korea, Kim said. Merrill plans to tap small and medium-sized corporate clients and financial companies in South Korea, before expanding to Taiwan and Hong Kong, Kim 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