■ Auto industry
Mercedes facility planned
Automaker DaimlerChrysler AG plans to establish a production facility for its Mercedes-Benz S-Class in Malaysia next year, the company said yesterday. Production was likely to start in the middle of next year, the company said, but no details on volume or sales targets were revealed. DaimlerChrysler assembles E-Class and C-Class models in the country, and it already has production sites in Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia. Many auto manufacturers established local assembly facilities for imported components in Southeast Asia in a bid to avoid paying import taxes on cars. DaimlerChrysler's Mercedes division sold 97,200 cars in the Asian-Pacific region last year, up 10 percent from 2004.
■ Privatization
Jakarta plans stake sales
The Indonesian government plans to sell stakes in 20 state companies from the second quarter of this year as part of its privatization program, a minister said yesterday. "There are 20 companies ready to be privatized," Minister for State Enterprises Sugiharto told reporters. The stake sales will start in the second quarter because companies would by then have released their audited financial results for last year, he said. He did not name the companies but said that some are those whose divestment was postponed in previous years. Last year, the government delayed the sale of a 7.1 percent stake in state gas distributor Perusahaan Gas Negara, worth an estimated 1.0 trillion rupiah (US$106 million).
■ Internet
Users make snap decisions
Internet users can give Web sites a thumbs up or thumbs down in less than the blink of an eye, according to a study by Canadian researchers. In just a brief one-twentieth of a second -- less than half the time it takes to blink -- people make aesthetic judgments that influence the rest of their experience with an Internet site. The study was published in the latest issue of the Behaviour and Information Technology journal. The author said the findings had powerful implications for the field of Web site design. "It really is just a physiological response," Gitte Lindgaard said on Tuesday. "So Web designers have to make sure they're not offending users visually. "If the first impression is negative, you'll probably drive people off." In the study, researchers discovered that people could rate the visual appeal of sites after seeing them for just one-twentieth of a second. These judgments were not random, the researchers found -- sites that were flashed up twice were given similar ratings both times.
■ Technology
Yahoo reports Q4 results
US Internet portal Yahoo said on Tuesday that its fourth-quarter gross profit rose 34 percent from the prior year to US$928 million. Yahoo's operating income for last year was up 61 percent from the previous year to US$1.108 billion. Gross profit for 2005 rose 42 percent to US$3.225 billion. Revenues for last year totaled US$5.258 billion, a 47 percent increase over the previous year. Net income for last year more than doubled from the prior year to US$1.896 billion, or US$1.28 per share. Adjusted net income for the final quarter of last year was US$247 million, rising to US$0.16 per undiluted share as compared with US$0.13 during that quarter in 2004, the company reported. Analyst expectations had pegged per-share earnings at US$0.17 for the quarter.
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