■ Finance
Citigroup foresees net loss
Citigroup Inc said late on Monday that it expects its Japan consumer finance segment to post a net loss of about US$370 million, or US$0.07 a share, in the fourth quarter. The loss was due to changes in Japanese consumer lending laws, Citigroup said. The company will record an after tax charge of US$40 million in its fourth-quarter, including expenses related to the closing of 270 branches and 100 automated loan machines. Citigroup will also increase reserves by US$375 million after tax in the fourth quarter.
■ Trade
Patent system harmonized
The US and Japan announced on Monday plans to harmonize their patent systems, streamline patent application processes and jointly fight piracy and counterfeiting. Unveiling the plan in Washington, US Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez and Japanese Trade Minister Akira Amari held up the program as a model to help economies based on innovation save time and money while boosting protection. Beginning with pilot programs his year, the two major trade partners will work to standardize patent application formats and promote electronic exchange of documents in an effort to build a global system for document exchanges.
■ Computers
Intel unveils new processor
For more than a year, Intel Corp and other chip makers have been selling the idea that two heads are better than one. Now, the world's largest semiconductor company is betting four heads -- actually, four computing engines -- will be better still. On Monday, Intel introduced the newest additions to its line of microprocessors, the silicon "brains" of computers. The Intel Core 2 Quad has four computing cores in a single chip package. The company said the upgrade from two-core line will give PCs an extra boost in handling media-intensive applications.
■ Internet
US giants in Guangdong
China's Guangdong Province will sign major deals with US giants Intel, Microsoft and IBM, offering businesses there access to cutting edge technology, state media reported yesterday. Intel plans to develop a security center for US$180 million, which aims to provide data solutions for leading multinational corporations based in southern China, the China Daily reported. Microsoft has signed a cooperation agreement for a US$150 million software development training center in the province and to better integrate all its software-related industries in the region. Meanwhile, IBM has signed an arrangement with the Guangdong government to build the company's third software research and development centre in China.
■ Environment
Going beyond Kyoto
Japanese Finance Minister Koji Omi called on Monday for a "new" and "practical" system to manage the global environment that went beyond the Kyoto Protocol and included the US, China and India. Speaking at a forum of the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies, Omi said that the Kyoto Protocol covered only about 30 percent of the world's total current carbon emissions and that the ratio was projected to decline further as emissions from developing countries increased. The US is the world's largest source of greenhouse gas, emitting 36.1 percent of the total in 1990.
The government is aiming to recruit 1,096 foreign English teachers and teaching assistants this year, the Ministry of Education said yesterday. The foreign teachers would work closely with elementary and junior-high instructors to create and teach courses, ministry official Tsai Yi-ching (蔡宜靜) said. Together, they would create an immersive language environment, helping to motivate students while enhancing the skills of local teachers, she said. The ministry has since 2021 been recruiting foreign teachers through the Taiwan Foreign English Teacher Program, which offers placement, salary, housing and other benefits to eligible foreign teachers. Two centers serving northern and southern Taiwan assist in recruiting and training
WIDE NET: Health officials said they are considering all possibilities, such as bongkrekic acid, while the city mayor said they have not ruled out the possibility of a malicious act of poisoning Two people who dined at a restaurant in Taipei’s Far Eastern Department Store Xinyi A13 last week have died, while four are in intensive care, the Taipei Department of Health said yesterday. All of the outlets of Malaysian vegetarian restaurant franchise Polam Kopitiam have been ordered to close pending an investigation after 11 people became ill due to suspected food poisoning, city officials told a news conference in Taipei. The first fatality, a 39-year-old man who ate at the restaurant on Friday last week, died of kidney failure two days later at the city’s Mackay Memorial Hospital. A 66-year-old man who dined
‘CARRIER KILLERS’: The Tuo Chiang-class corvettes’ stealth capability means they have a radar cross-section as small as the size of a fishing boat, an analyst said President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday presided over a ceremony at Yilan County’s Suao Harbor (蘇澳港), where the navy took delivery of two indigenous Tuo Chiang-class corvettes. The corvettes, An Chiang (安江) and Wan Chiang (萬江), along with the introduction of the coast guard’s third and fourth 4,000-tonne cutters earlier this month, are a testament to Taiwan’s shipbuilding capability and signify the nation’s resolve to defend democracy and freedom, Tsai said. The vessels are also the last two of six Tuo Chiang-class corvettes ordered from Lungteh Shipbuilding Co (龍德造船) by the navy, Tsai said. The first Tuo Chiang-class vessel delivered was Ta Chiang (塔江)
EYE ON STRAIT: The US spending bill ‘doubles security cooperation funding for Taiwan,’ while also seeking to counter the influence of China US President Joe Biden on Saturday signed into law a US$1.2 trillion spending package that includes US$300 million in foreign military financing to Taiwan, as well as funding for Taipei-Washington cooperative projects. The US Congress early on Saturday overwhelmingly passed the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act 2024 to avoid a partial shutdown and fund the government through September for a fiscal year that began six months ago. Under the package, the Defense Appropriations Act would provide a US$27 billion increase from the previous fiscal year to fund “critical national defense efforts, including countering the PRC [People’s Republic of China],” according to a summary