■ GAMING
Microsoft cuts Xbox price
Microsoft Corp's Xbox 360 video game console was US$50 cheaper in the US yesterday, confirming fuzzy snapshots of leaked advertisements posted by bloggers late last month. The company said its most popular console, which comes with a 20 gigabyte hard drive, will cost US$349. Microsoft has been dodging questions about a console price cut since competitor Sony Corp slashed the price of its 60 gigabyte PlayStation 3 to US$499, from US$599, early last month. Nintendo Corp's Wii, the least expensive of the so-called next-generation consoles, costs US$250.
■ COMPUTERS
Apple updates the iMac
Apple Inc updated its iMac computers on Tuesday with a slimmer design, faster chips and glossy screens, hoping to further propel sales that already outpace the rest of the PC industry. The all-in-one desktop computers now have aluminum casings, replacing the white plastic facade that has defined the computer lineup for years. The new iMacs will come in only 50cm and 60cm versions. In the company's fiscal third quarter that ended in June, Apple shipped a record 1.76 million Macs, up 33 percent from the year-ago period, accounting for US$2.5 billion, or more than 60 percent, of the quarter's revenues.
■ FOOD
Bull-Dog bid revamped
The US investment fund Steel Partners announced yesterday a revamped buyout bid for Japan's Bull-Dog Sauce, pushing ahead with its controversial offer despite a string of legal defeats. Steel Partners said it will lower its tender offer price for Bull-Dog Sauce to ?425 (US$3.60) per share from ?1,700 a day after Japan's top court upheld the condiment maker's right to use a "poison pill" takeover defense. The tender offer, which had been due to expire on Friday, was also extended until Aug. 22 to give investors time to respond to the revised offer, as required by law, a spokeswoman for Steel Partners said.
■ ENERGY
PetroChina mulls IPO
PetroChina Co (中國石油天然氣), China's largest oil company, could raise 40 billion yuan (US$5.3 billion) via a share sale that would be the largest initial public offer (IPO) of the year, state press said yesterday. The Beijing-based group will issue four billion shares in Shanghai at approximately 10 yuan each, accounting for about 2 percent of its enlarged share capital, the China Daily said, citing an unnamed executive at the firm. The newspaper report followed an official announcement in June that the Hong Kong-listed group would seek to sell shares in its home markets as part of plans to ramp up its expansion.
■ ECONOMY
India moves to curb inflows
India has placed curbs on overseas borrowing to cut massive foreign currency flows into the economy that led the rupee to strengthen sharply against the dollar this year, officials said yesterday. The finance ministry said firms that borrow more than US$20 million from overseas must now seek central bank approval. "Henceforth external commercial borrowing [of] more than US$20 million per borrowing company would be permitted only for foreign currency expenditure for permissible end-uses," it said. "Such funds would continued to be parked overseas until actual requirement."
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