■ INTERNET
Samsung battles food chain
Samsung Electronics Co is embroiled in a court battle with a local food supply chain over an Internet domain name, media reports in Seoul said yesterday. The small chain, whose identity was withheld, has filed a lawsuit appealing an earlier decision that the company should hand over the "sens.co.kr" domain name to Samsung, Internet news provider Moneytoday said. In May 1996, Samsung registered "SENS" as a trademark for its computers and monitors. But the chain registered "sens.co.kr" as its domain name two years later with South Korea's National Internet Development Agency.
■ AVIATION
US approves China flights
US authorities on Tuesday approved six new flights between the US and China, including two ahead of the upcoming Olympic Games, under a civil aviation deal signed earlier this year. The US Department of Transportation said it made a final decision to award Delta Airlines a new direct route from Atlanta to Shanghai, making the carrier the first to fly that route, and approved a United Airlines direct route from San Francisco to Guangzhou. Delta said its flights would start on March 30 next year. The United flights will begin in the first half of next year.
■ ELECTRONICS
NEC trades suspended
Japan's NEC Corp said yesterday that the New York-based NASDAQ stock exchange will suspend trading in NEC shares after it failed to meet a deadline to restate its past financial results. The NASDAQ will halt trading in NEC's American Depositary Receipts beginning today, the company said in a brief statement. The exchange had asked NEC, which makes semiconductors, high-end computers and other electronics, to complete a restatement of results for the year to March last year by Sept. 25. The restatement was needed for the company to comply with tighter accounting rules on revenues from software and maintenance and support services.
■ GERMANY
Consumer confidence drops
Rising milk prices and subprime fears have sapped the morale of consumers in the eurozone's biggest economy this month, a survey by the nation's GfK institute found. The leading barometer of household confidence fell to an indexed 6.8 points from a revised level last month of 7.4, its second drop in as many months, a GfK statement said yesterday. "The credit crisis in the United States and rising food prices are primarily responsible for the decreased tendency to spend" by consumers, the institute added. Other factors cited in the GfK study were debates about the euro's current strength against the US dollar and its potential effect on the German economy.
■ TELECOMS
Sprint, Virgin announce IPO
Virgin Mobile USA, a joint telecom venture between US firm Sprint Nextel and Virgin Group of Britain, said on Tuesday it planned to raise about US$400 million in its market debut. In a statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the mobile phone operator said it was putting up for sale 25.6 million shares, representing 55 percent of the firm's total, at a price between US$15 and US$17 per share. The initial public offering (IPO) would generate around US$375.6 million, based on an share price of US$16, the company said.
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
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
BULLY TACTICS: Beijing has continued its incursions into Taiwan’s airspace even as Xi Jinping talked about Taiwan being part of the Chinese family and nation China should stop its coercion of Taiwan and respect mainstream public opinion in Taiwan about sovereignty if its expression of goodwill is genuine, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said yesterday. Ministry spokesman Jeff Liu (劉永健) made the comment in response to media queries about a meeting between former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) the previous day. Ma voiced support for the so-called “1992 consensus,” while Xi said that although the two sides of the Taiwan Strait have “different systems,” this does not change the fact that they are “part of the same country,” and that “external
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