■ WORKPLACE
Business stress on the rise
Eight out of 10 business leaders in China have reported an increase in stress in the past year, a far greater jump than European counterparts who work the fewest number of hours per week worldwide, a study disclosed on Wednesday. The accounting and consulting firm Grant Thornton found that 84 percent of Chinese executives responding to a survey reported an increase in stress levels compared to a year ago. Business leaders in three other powerhouses also suffered increases in stress -- Taiwan, where 82 percent of those questioned said stress had risen, India, 79 percent and Russia, 76 percent.
■ COMPUTERS
YouTube on Apple TV
Apple Inc said on Wednesday it will soon introduce the ability for Apple TV users to access the popular YouTube service on their living room TVs through its video-streaming set-top-box. Beginning this month, users of the Apple TV device will be able to wirelessly stream videos directly from YouTube. The slim, book-sized device streams movies and songs stored in the user's iTunes personal library but cannot directly access Internet-based videos. Earlier that day Apple started selling songs without copy protection software on its iTunes Store -- a move analysts say will be a model for future online music sales.
■ ECONOMY
Indian economy booming
India's economy grew faster than expected at a record 9.4 percent in the year to March, beating a government forecast of 9.2 percent yesterday and raising hopes of more foreign investment. The record-breaking performance was driven by upward revisions to manufacturing and services output in previous quarters and a jump in overseas investment, the central statistical organization said. In the previous fiscal year, India's economy grew 9 percent. The government said the economy grew 9.1 percent in the three months to March and that the previous three quarters of the fiscal year had been revised upwards.
■ ECONOMY
US growth slows
The US economy slowed to a 0.6 percent growth pace in the first quarter, the government said yesterday in a revision for the January-March period. GDP was revised down from last month's estimate of 1.3 percent and was the slowest pace in more than four years, the Commerce Department report showed. The department said the latest revision came as a result of a bigger-than-expected trade deficit, which meant more goods consumed in the US were produced abroad. Real estate remained the main drag on economic growth, as spending on residential investment fell 15.4 percent, it said.
■ OIL
Vast oil field discovered
A South Korean consortium has confirmed the existence of a huge oil field off Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula, the Korea National Oil Corporation (KNOC) said yesterday. A KNOC-led consortium and Russia's state-owned Rosneft now estimate that the oilfield off Russia's Far East holds up to 10 billion barrels of oil, far larger than previously estimated, KNOC said. The South Korean consortium has a 40 percent stake in the project, with Rosneft holding the rest. "We plan to carry out further analyses with a view to drilling test holes late next year," he said, adding that commercially recoverable reserves are usually about 40 percent of geographical reserves.
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
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
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