■ CLOTHING
Limited Brands sells interest
Limited Brands Inc will sell a majority interest in its underperforming Express apparel brand and is considering options for its Limited Stores chain, the retailer said on Tuesday. Limited Brands, the operator of Victoria's Secret and Bath & Body Works, said it is selling 67 percent of its interest in Express to affiliates of private equity firm Golden Gate Capital for US$548 million. The sale is expected to be completed by July. There is no time period for what Limited Brands will do with Limited Stores, which company founder Les Wexner used as the starting point for the specialty retailer when he opened his first store in 1963.
■ INTERNET
Yahoo to expand mapping
Yahoo Inc's online mapping service in the US was due to begin giving driving directions in 34 European countries yesterday as part of an upgrade aimed at luring traffic away from rivals AOL and Google Inc. Besides guiding US motorists around Europe for the first time, Yahoo said it also will feature more landmarks and other visual cues to help people find their way around. The company is hoping the improvements can help reverse a recent erosion in its share of the online mapping market. In April, AOL's Mapquest service attracted 49.2 million US visitors, a three percent increase from last year, while traffic to Google's maps surged 49 percent to 30.8 million visitors, according to comScore Media Metrix.
■ INTERNET
Yahoo hires veteran banker
Yahoo Inc has hired veteran investment banker Blake Jorgensen as its new chief financial officer, the latest indication that the Internet icon is more interested in expanding through acquisitions than selling to potential suitors like Microsoft Corp. With the appointment announced on Tuesday, Yahoo finally designated a replacement for Susan Decker, who has been the company's CFO for seven years. She is widely viewed as the most likely successor to Yahoo chairman Terry Semel, who is under increasing pressure to boost the company's recently sagging profits.
■ COMPUTERS
Oracle buys Agile Corp
Business software maker Oracle Corp added yet another acquisition to its bulging shopping basket on Tuesday with a US$495 million deal to buy Agile Software Corp. After the latest all-cash purchase closes in July Oracle will have spent more than US$25 billion snapping up smaller software makers since 2004 in an audacious challenge to Germany's SAP AG, the leading provider of business applications used to automate a wide range of administrative tasks. Agile specializes in software that helps companies manage key products.
■ INVESTMENT
Singapore sets up Asia trust
Singapore's government investment company, Temasek Holdings, said yesterday it set up a trust with an initial endowment of S$500 million (US$330 million) to promote development in Asia. The Temasek Trust will disburse up to 4 percent of its endowment funds every year to support civic and community programs in the region, Temasek chairman Dhanabalan said at a briefing. Dhanabalan said the trust symbolizes Temasek's "commitment to play a constructive role in the continued progress and success of Asia and people in Asia."
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
BULLY TACTICS: Beijing has continued its incursions into Taiwan’s airspace even as Xi Jinping talked about Taiwan being part of the Chinese family and nation China should stop its coercion of Taiwan and respect mainstream public opinion in Taiwan about sovereignty if its expression of goodwill is genuine, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said yesterday. Ministry spokesman Jeff Liu (劉永健) made the comment in response to media queries about a meeting between former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) the previous day. Ma voiced support for the so-called “1992 consensus,” while Xi said that although the two sides of the Taiwan Strait have “different systems,” this does not change the fact that they are “part of the same country,” and that “external
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