■ INVESTMENT
Bid for lunch with Buffett
Last year's bidding for lunch with legendary investor Warren Buffett topped US$620,000, so who knows how much it will cost this year. The online bidding began at US$25,000 on Sunday night in a charity auction that benefits the Glide Foundation, which provides social services to the poor and homeless in San Francisco. The bids will likely escalate significantly before the auction closes on Friday at 9pm. The winner will be able to take six friends to lunch with Buffett, chairman and CEO of Omaha-based Berkshire Hathaway Inc. Buffett began auctioning the lunches for the charity offline in 2000. He offers one lunch a year.
■ INVESTMENT
Tokyo to tighten checks
Japan plans to introduce more stringent checks on investment funds, making all operators subject to inspection following consumer complaints about inadequate protection, a Securities and Exchange Surveillance Commission official said yesterday. The commission is drafting new guidelines that will cover buyout, hedge and real estate and other funds under a new financial instruments law that will take effect in September. "Many of those funds are not subject to government inspection now. The legal change was made as public concerns about appropriate investor protection and regulations have grown," the official said.
■ AUTOMOBILES
Daimler upbeat after sale
DaimlerChrysler is confident the next few years will be positive now that it is getting rid of its loss-making US arm, chief executive Dieter Zetsche said in an interview with the Berlin-based regional daily Tagesspiegel yesterday. "I'm sure how we're going to develop and we'll issue a statement on that this year. The next few years are going to be good," Zetsche said. The sale of Chrysler to US private equity group Cerberus for US$7.4 billion meant that Daimler "now has a very good perspective for the future," he said, adding that the automaker is planning to launch a small sports utility vehicle and the new E-Series models in the near future.
■ TELECOMS
French ministry plans sale
The French Finance Ministry said on Sunday it plans to lower its stake in France Telecom by 5 percent to reduce public debt. The government intends to sell 130 million shares in the nation's largest telecoms company, but that number could increase to 180 million, or 7 percent of France Telecom's share capital, depending on demand. After the planned offer, the government, directly or indirectly, will still own between 25.5 percent and 27.4 percent of France Telecom.
■ MEDIA
Deal on `WSJ' near: report
Newspaper magnate Rupert Murdoch and his News Corp are close to an agreement with the Bancroft family controlling Dow Jones on the Wall Street Journal's (WSJ) newsroom independence, if the company were to accept a takeover bid from him, the New York Times reported on its Web site on Sunday. But citing several unnamed people briefed on the talks, the newspaper said the deal between Murdoch and the Bancrofts' advisers did not mean that either the Dow Jones board or the family would approve the deal. If an agreement on newsroom independence were reached, the only barrier standing in the deal would be the selling price, the report 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