■COMPUTERS
Microsoft, Fujitsu ink deal
Microsoft and Japan’s Fujitsu have agreed on a partnership in global cloud computing, where data and programs are stored on servers that are accessed online rather than on users’ computers. The lower-cost concept, where clients can save by installing less powerful computers and less memory, has grown in popularity during the economic downturn and also thanks to higher Internet speeds. Under the tie-up, Fujitsu will deploy the Windows Azure platform in its data centers, starting at its Tatebayashi center near Tokyo by the end of this year, to be followed by other locations around the world.
■BEVERAGES
Starbucks expands in shops
Starbucks Corp is expanding in grocery stores in Japan and the UK. Starbucks VIA Ready Brew coffee will now be sold in Tesco stores and will soon be available in more than 2,000 grocery stores across the UK, the company said in a press release on Monday. Starbucks has already introduced VIA coffee in its own UK retail stores, and its whole bean coffees have been available in UK grocery stores since 2006.
■FINANCE
KB Financial to expand
The new head of KB Financial Group, South Korea’s largest financial services company, vowed to expand its presence in Asia as he took office yesterday. Shareholders at a special meeting approved Euh Yoon-dae, a close aide to South Korean President Lee Myung-bak, as chairman and chief executive. Euh announced a push to diversify income sources, almost 90 percent of which come from group flagship Kookmin Bank. He also said the firm must expand its presence in Asia to overcome the saturated domestic market.
■REAL ESTATE
DTZ back in the black
Real estate services company DTZ has swung back into profit as investors tiptoe back to recovering property markets but has cancelled a final dividend amid fears for a second plunge in global property values. The London-listed broker booked pre-tax, pre-exceptionals profits of £3.6 million (US$5.4 million) in the year to April 30 compared with a £35.1 million loss a year earlier, but has opted to withhold a dividend to preserve balance sheet strength as fiscal tightening measures cast a pall over the real estate revival.
■SOFTWARE
Infosys Q1 profit drops
India’s second-biggest software exporter Infosys announced yesterday a 2.4 percent fall in first-quarter consolidated net profit to 14.88 billion rupees (US$316 million) from 15.25 billion rupees a year earlier. The Bangalore-based software giant gained 38 extra clients for the quarter, which ended in June, it said in a statement to the Mumbai stock exchange.
■STEEL
POSCO’s Q2 profit soars
South Korea’s top steelmaker POSCO said yesterday its second-quarter net profit had almost tripled to 1.19 trillion won (US$981 million) due to price rises and growing demand as the world economy improved. The April-to-June figure compares with a net profit of 431 billion won in the second quarter of last year, the company said in a statement. Sales jumped 25 percent to 7.93 trillion won over the same period and operating profit surged to 1.84 trillion won from 170 billion won.
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