■ TAKEOVERS
Dow Jones seeks alternative
Dow Jones & Co board members set a meeting with tycoon Ron Burkle, a source close to the situation said on Monday, amid reports the firm was making a final push for an alternative to a hostile bid from Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. The source said that Burkle, a Los Angeles billionaire, was to meet a committee from the board of Dow Jones, the publisher of the Wall Street Journal and owner of other media outlets yesterday. There was no comment on the situation from Dow Jones.
■ SOUTH KOREA
Growth forecast up
South Korea's central bank yesterday raised its growth forecast for this year, citing strong exports and a recent recovery in domestic spending and said the economy would also expand faster next year. The Bank of Korea raised its GDP growth prediction for this year to 4.5 percent from a 4.4 percent estimate made in late December. It said GDP would likely expand 4.7 percent in the second half, in line with initial estimates, after growing 4.4 percent in the six months to last month -- above its initial forecast of 4 percent.
■ AVIATION
Ryanair takes EU to court
Ryanair Holdings PLC, the discount airline prevented from buying rival Aer Lingus, said yesterday it will take to court EU competition authorities over their alleged failure to enforce competition rules fairly. Ryanair said it would take the EU to court because it has refused to act on at least four complaints filed by the Dublin-based carrier since 2005 involving Lufthansa, Air France, Alitalia and Olympic Airlines of Greece. The EU, which on June 27 vetoed Ryanair's ambition to acquire recently privatized Irish airline Aer Lingus, offered no immediate comment.
■ ELECTRONICS
LG.Philips announces profit
LG.Philips LCD Co, the world's second-largest manufacturer of liquid- crystal displays, announced yesterday its first quarterly profit in more than a year amid strong sales, stabilizing prices and cost cuts. The company said it earned 228 billion won (US$248 million) in the three months ended June 30. LG.Philips posted a net loss of 322 billion won in the second quarter last year. The company had suffered four straight quarterly losses amid falling prices for panels used in flat screen TVs and computer monitors. Sales during the quarter surged 45 percent to 3.36 trillion won from 2.32 trillion won a year earlier. The analysts had expected sales of 3.2 trillion won.
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
SHOT IN THE ARM: The new system can be integrated with Avenger and Stinger missiles to bolster regional air defense capabilities, a defense ministry report said Domestically developed Land Sword II (陸射劍二) missiles were successfully launched and hit target drones during a live-fire exercise at the Jiupeng Military Base in Pingtung County yesterday. The missiles, developed by the Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology (CSIST), were originally scheduled to launch on Tuesday last week, after the Tomb Sweeping Day holiday long weekend, but were postponed to yesterday due to weather conditions. Local residents and military enthusiasts gathered outside the base to watch the missile tests, with the first one launching at 9:10am. The Land Sword II system, which is derived from the Sky Sword II (天劍二) series, was turned