■ OIL
War talk rattles market
Oil prices rose to new intraday highs in Asia yesterday on fears Turkey would pursue Kurdish rebels into Iraq and disrupt oil supplies in the region. A weakening US dollar, low US crude inventories and increased buying by investment funds also supported prices, analysts said. Light, sweet crude for delivery next month rose US$0.51 to US$86.64 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange by midafternoon yesterday in Singapore. Despite the gains, oil is still below inflation-adjusted highs hit in early 1980.
■ SOFTWARE
Microsoft drops appeal
Microsoft Corp said yesterday it had submitted a request to withdraw an appeal against an antitrust ruling by the Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC). "It is important to note that Microsoft remains committed to [South] Korea and continues to work closely with the FTC to ensure that [South] Korean consumers benefit from vibrant competition in the IT industry," Microsoft said in a statement. It also said that the company had submitted the withdrawal request to the Seoul High Court. It did not elaborate. In February of last year, the KFTC ruled that Microsoft had abused its dominant market position in Korea to tie certain software to its Windows operating system.
■ COTTON
WTO rules against US
The WTO has found that the US failed to scrap a series of illegal subsidies paid out to local cotton growers, a ruling that could open the door to billions of dollars' worth of Brazilian trade sanctions against the US, trade officials said on Monday. The result is a major victory for Brazil's cotton industry and for West African countries that have claimed to have been harmed by the US payments. The three-member WTO compliance panel upheld its findings from an interim report released in July, said Roberto Azevedo, the Brazilian foreign ministry's trade chief.
■ PACKAGING
Cardboard firm to pay fine
Australia's competition watchdog yesterday recommended a company headed by the country's third richest man, cardboard box billionaire Richard Pratt, pay a record fine for participating in a cartel. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission called for Pratt's company, Visy, to pay a A$36 million (US$32.4 million) fine for breaching anti-trust laws through a secret price-fixing deal struck with rival Amcor. The previous Australian record fine for cartel behavior was US$15 million. Pratt, whose personal wealth was estimated at A$5.4 billion in this year's Business Review Weekly rich list, admitted earlier this month that Visy's deal with Amcor breached Australian anti-trust laws.
■ FOOD
Danone pulls out of venture
French food giant Danone, which is embroiled in a long and bitter public feud with a Chinese partner, said yesterday it was backing out of another venture in China. Groupe Danone SA will sell its entire 20.01 percent stake in Shanghai-based Bright Dairy and Food for 955 million yuan (US$127 million), separate company statements said. Besides its partnership with Bright Dairy, Danone also has a troubled tie-up with China's top drinks company Wahaha Group. The two firms are in the midst of bitter disputes linked to their joint ventures and ownership of the Wahaha trademark.
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