■ INTERNET
Souders to join Google
Yahoo Inc.s Web site performance executive Steve Souders, who has been at Yahoo since 2000, will join Google Inc next week, Souders said on his blog. "I'm at Google as of Jan. 7, 2008," Souders wrote on his Web site www.stevesouders.com, without further explanation. Souders developed platforms and products while at Yahoo and managed the development team for My Yahoo, a page that can be tailored to individual users' preferences. Yahoo's stock has fallen 9 percent this year while Google's has risen 50 percent.
■ AUTOMOBILES
Delphi reports losses
Auto-parts supplier Delphi Corp on Monday reported a net loss of US$231 million for November. The Troy, Michigan, company, which filed for bankruptcy protection in 2005, said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that its net loss for January through November amounted to US$2.78 billion. Delphi recorded about US$1.15 billion in net sales for last month. Delphi, the US' biggest maker of auto parts, was spun off in 1999 from General Motors Corp, which has borne a large chunk of Delphi's restructuring costs.
■ INVESTMENT
US approves NASDAQ deal
NASDAQ Stock Market Inc said on Monday the US government approved a plan to give Dubai's state-owned bourse a stake in the US electronic exchange. The approval is the first step in allowing the NASDAQ to continue with its plan to acquire Stockholm-based exchange operator OMX. The new exchange will be known as Nasdaq OMX Group Inc. Borse Dubai Ltd will own a 19.9 percent stake in the US exchange, though its voting stake will be capped at 5 percent. It will also receive NASDAQ's stake in the London Stock Exchange. Shares of NASDAQ rose US$0.35 cents to US$49.47 in afternoon trading.
■ TRANSPORTATION
Jeju Air orders 737s
South Korea's Jeju Air has ordered five narrowbody 737 passenger planes to accommodate future growth, Boeing Co said on Monday. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Chicago-based Boeing, which assembles its 737s south of Seattle, said the new 737-800s are worth US$370 million at list prices, though customers typically negotiate steep discounts. The single-aisle plane can seat between 162 and 189 passengers and fly about 5,600km. To date, Boeing has won more than 4,400 orders for so-called "Next-Generation" 737s, which include several models from the 737-600 to the 737-900ER.
■ TRADE
Cuba-China trade up 23%
Trade between Cuba and China grew by 23 percent to more than US$2 billion last year, solidifying China's place as the communist-run island's second-largest economic benefactor behind oil-rich Venezuela. China is Cuba's second-largest trading partner and the top importer of Cuban products, especially nickel and sugar, Cuba's official news agency Prensa Latina reported on Monday from Beijing, without giving exact figures. In 2006, trade between the two countries totaled US$1.8 billion -- double that of 2005, China's ambassador to Havana said in March. Chinese consumer goods are increasingly common on the island, and hundreds of Chinese-made buses and trains have helped ease chronic transportation problems.
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