■ FOREX
Moody's upgrades ratings
International ratings agency Moody's Investors Service has upgraded its currency ratings for China, Hong Kong and Macau. Moody's raised China's long-term foreign currency bond rating to "A1" from "A2" on the back of the exceptional strength of its external payments position, favorable government debt trends and continued progress in economic reform. Outlook is stable, it said yesterday. For Hong Kong, Moody's raised its ratings to "Aa2" from "Aa3" to reflect a strengthening of the government's finances and its external position. It also upgraded ratings for Macau to "Aa3" from "A1," with a stable outlook.
■ NEW ZEALAND
Central bank raises rates
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand raised interest rates yesterday for the fourth successive time this year in an effort to beat inflation but suggested the hike may be the last in the current cycle. Bank Governor Alan Bollard announced the official cash rate would rise by a quarter of a percentage point to 8.25 percent, one of the highest rates in the developed world. But Bollard acknowledged the harmful impact the strong currency has been having on the nation's exporters.
■ SEMICONDUCTORS
Matsushita plans chip deal
Japan's Matsushita and Renesas Technology plan to jointly develop process technology for 32-nanometer system chips, the most-advanced semiconductor, a report said yesterday. Electronics giant Matsushita Electric Industrial Co and Renesas Technology Corp hope to sign an agreement of the by the end of the fiscal year, the Nikkei Shimbun reported, without clarifying sources. Through the deal, technicians of Matsushita and Renesas will work to devise ways to fabricate fine circuits so that they will be able to make chips smaller and more energy-efficient than conventional versions, the business paper said.
■ PIRACY
High-tech help for drinkers
High-tech help will soon be available for discerning South Korean drinkers who suspect they are being served fake Scotch. Local bottlers from next year will be urged to incorporate radio frequency identification (RFID) chips in their 21-year-old whisky blends, the Korea Times reported yesterday. South Korean Assistant Minister of Information and Communication Yang Jun-cheol was quoted as saying that the government would encourage local whisky bottlers to embed RFID chips in bottles of 12-year-old and 17-year-old blends by 2012. The project is part of efforts to boost the RFID business, he said, with the tags expected to be extended to other areas such as logistics, distribution and the production of top-end items.
■ SOFTWARE
Judge wants to see contract
A US judge on Wednesday gave ConnectU creators two weeks to shore up their lawsuit accusing Facebook's founder of stealing their plan for a social networking Web site for college students. Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss claim that they enlisted Mark Zuckerberg to finish software code for their Web site while they were all students at Harvard in 2003. US District Judge Douglas Woodlock told the court in Boston, Massachusetts. Winklevosses may be using the lawsuit as a ploy to extract a settlement from Facebook, and pressed their lawyer to produce evidence of a commercial deal with Zuckerberg. "Dorm room chitchat does not make a contract, so I want to see it," Woodlock 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