■ADVERTISING
Publicis to buy Razorfish
French advertising company Publicis Groupe SA has agreed to buy Microsoft Corp’s digital advertising firm Razorfish in a move to boost its share of advertising on the Web, a joint statement said on Sunday. The deal is valued at US$530 million, comprised of cash and 6.5 million Publicis Groupe treasury shares. The two companies also signed a five-year strategic alliance agreement that will allow Publicis to purchase display and search advertising from Seattle-based Microsoft on favorable terms across Microsoft’s digital properties in exchange for certain minimum guaranteed purchases. Under terms of that agreement, Razorfish will continue to be a preferred provider to Microsoft for digital strategy, creative and marketing services and Microsoft has committed to spend a minimum amount for those services each year. In addition to Microsoft, Razorfish’s major clients include Ford Motor Co, Best Buy Co, McDonald’s Corp and Starwood Hotels Resorts Worldwide Inc. Razorfish will continue to operate under its brand name and be part of VivaKi, the new Publicis Groupe entity created in June last year to reflect independent operations of Digitas, Starcom MediaVest Group, Denuo and ZenithOptimedia.
■FASHION
Aussie boycott threatened
Britain’s leading fashion retailers are threatening to boycott Australian wool after farmers said they would continue sheep mulesing, or cutting of the hide to prevent disease, a report said yesterday. Next and Marks & Spencer are among major chains to condemn the decision as “totally unacceptable,” and have pledged to seek wool from non-mulesed Australian farms, or from other countries, the Guardian newspaper said. Marks & Spencer has pledged to use non-mulesed merino wool for suits in its menswear range after next year. In a letter to Australian wool industry leaders, the retailer is said to have stressed the “2010 deadline is not negotiable and loss of confidence in M&S wool products could well lead to widespread customer boycotting and loss of revenue for the whole supply chain,” the newspaper said. The British Retail Consortium said it was “disappointed” at the announcement by the farmers last month, and at the end of next year its members “will seek to use suppliers who don’t use mulesing.”
■FINANCE
BNP appoints China head
BNP Paribas SA said Margaret Ren (任克英) has been appointed chairwoman and chief executive officer of corporate finance for Greater China to expand the investment banking business of France’s biggest lender in the region. Ren’s appointment is effective yesterday, BNP Paribas said. She is a former managing director and chairman of China investment banking at Merrill Lynch & Co. Merrill was bought by Bank of America Corp this year.
■PETROLEUM
Oil hovers at US$71 a barrel
Oil prices hovered near US$71 a barrel yesterday in Asia as investors looked to signs later this week of US consumers health. Benchmark crude for September delivery was up US$0.17 to US$71.10 a barrel by midday in Singapore in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. On Friday, the contract fell US$1.01 to settle at US$70.93. Crude prices have fluttered near US$71 a barrel and US$72 for about a week as investors try to gauge how strong a US economic recovery will be this year.
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
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