■ SOFTWARE
Capgemini to use Google
Technology consultancy Capgemini will begin recommending Google Inc's online suite of office software to its corporate customers, bolstering the Internet search leader's effort to drum up more sales to big businesses. The partnership announced on Monday represents the first time one of the world's top technology consulting services has embraced Google's software bundle, which includes e-mail, word processing, spreadsheets and calendar management. Capgemini, based in Paris, France, influences the type of software used on more than 1 million personal computers in companies worldwide. Its major customers include drug maker Eli Lilly & Co and accounting company PricewaterhouseCoopers.
■ STEEL
ArcelorMittal sales to grow
ArcelorMittal said on Friday it planned to increase steel shipments by more than 20 percent from last year to 2012, as it pushes into Latin America, Africa, Eastern Europe, Russia and Central Asia. This will bring annual sales to 131 million tonnes from last year's 110.5 million tonnes. CEO Lakshmi Mittal said worldwide demand for steel is "buoyant." "We are well positioned to capture growth opportunities, which will permit us to increase shipments from our existing operations by some 23 million tonnes by 2012," he said.
■ AUTOMOBILES
Honda to sell Jazz in India
Honda Motor Co, Japan's second-biggest automaker, plans to sell the Jazz or another "premium" small car to boost sales in India, where almost three-fourths of cars sold are hatchbacks. "Whatever we bring here will be part of our global range, it will be a global model," said Jnaneswar Sen, senior general manager of marketing at Honda Siel Cars India Pvt, the local unit. Honda Motor's market share is a 10th of rival Suzuki Motor Corp in India, where fuel efficiency and cost influence buying decisions more than styling, safety features or brand value. Small cars also enjoy tax advantages in India.
■ OIL
OPEC discussing output
OPEC oil producers were to discuss all options for their production policy at their formal meeting yesterday, the Qatari oil minister said. "We will discuss all options," said Abdullah bin Hamad al-Attiyah as he arrived for a breakfast meeting with his OPEC partners. The oil exporters' group had previously been expected to leave its output unchanged, but there are signs that members might bend to the will of Saudi Arabia and increase output. Pressure by the Saudi kingdom has created doubt about the final outcome of the meeting, but investors appeared to be betting on no change, with oil prices higher in Asia early yesterday.
■ BANKING
Lewis buys major stake
British billionaire Joseph Lewis, a magnate who controls more than 170 companies, has acquired a 7 percent stake in investment bank Bear Stearns Cos, becoming one of its largest shareholders. Lewis, who runs Florida-based investment vehicle Tavistock Group, bought 8.1 million shares for a total of US$860.4 million between Aug. 6 and Sept. 7, according to documents filed on Monday with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Bear Stearns shares have fallen about 30 percent since the beginning of the year amid worries related to the crisis in the mortgage markets.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique