■TELEPHONES
Smartphone sales rise
Smartphone makers sold 27 percent more units in the second quarter as global mobile-phone sales fell 6.1 percent, research firm Gartner said. Apple’s iPhone increased its share to 13.3 percent of the smartphone market in the quarter from 2.8 percent a year ago, it said in a statement yesterday. Nokia’s share of the overall handset market fell to 36.8 percent in the quarter from 39.5 percent a year earlier, while Samsung and LG gained ground. Gartner anticipates reduced subsidies for mobile-phone purchases, increasing price pressure on handset makers. Touchscreen devices will continue to be popular and application and content offerings will become more important, the researcher said.
■FOOD
Nestle profit down 2 percent
Nestle SA, the world’s biggest food and drink maker, reported yesterday a 2 percent fall in first-half net profit as the recession hurt consumer demand and divestments and a stronger Swiss franc weighed on sales. The maker of popular brands such as Nescafe, Perrier, Jenny Craig and Haagen Dazs said it earned 5.1 billion Swiss francs (US$4.7 billion) in the first six months of the year, down slightly from SF5.2 billion in the same period last year. The result bettered market expectations, although some analysts said the company had dropped its full-year growth target. Shares fell 3.4 percent to SF42.62 in early Zurich trading. Chief executive Paul Bulcke said he was pleased that Nestle “delivered a combination of growth and increased profitability in the first half of the year, and this in a very challenging business environment.”
■BANKING
HSBC buys Ekonomi shares
Global banking giant HSBC said yesterday it now owned almost all of Indonedia-based Bank Ekonomi after purchasing another chunk of shares. HSBC said in a statement that it had bought another 10.08 percent of Ekonomi shares that were held by the general public for about US$71.6 million. The group now owns 98.96 percent of Ekonomi. “The acquisition almost doubled HSBC’s presence to 208 outlets in 26 cities in the world’s fourth most populous country,” the bank said.
■ENERGY
E.On profit nearly doubles
Germany’s E.On AG, Europe’s largest energy company, said yesterday its net profit more than doubled in the second quarter, helped by shifts in currency values, higher prices and one-off financial gains. The Duesseldorf-based company said it earned 1.9 billion euros (US$2.7 billion) in the April-to-June period, compared with 882 million euros in July last year, marking a 110 percent increase. The company said this was boosted by changes in foreign exchange rates, gains on derivative positions and divestments of assets such as power plants. Sales for the quarter in fact declined 11 percent to 17 billion euros from 19 billion euros in July last year as the recession curbed demand for energy.
■CRIME
Software judged piracy tool
A federal judge in the US has ruled in a closely watched legal battle that RealNetworks Inc’s DVD copying software appears to be an illegal pirating tool. US District Court Judge Marilyn Hall Patel on Tuesday kept in place her order barring the Seattle-based firm from selling its software until she resolves the legal battle over copyright protections between the company and Hollywood studios. The judge said it was likely that the studios would prevail with their argument that the software violates a federal anti-piracy law.
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
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
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
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