Crude oil: Russia's exports to decline
Crude oil rose higher than US$31 a barrel for the first time in 19 months as Russia said its fourth-quarter oil exports will decline, and the UK said Iraq may be attacked without a new UN resolution on weapons inspections. Crude oil for November delivery rose US$0.40, or 1.3 percent, to US$31.11 a barrel at 1:40pm Singapore time in after-hours electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the highest since Feb. 9, 2001.
Xerox: US attorney investigates
Xerox Corp, the world's largest copier maker, said the US attorney's office in Bridgeport, Connecticut, is investigating the company's accounting practices from 1997 to 2001. The probe covers accounting issues reviewed by and settled with the SEC, company spokeswoman Christa Carone said. Xerox learned of the investigation yesterday and still needs "to understand the full context" of it, she said. Xerox agreed in April to pay a US$10 million fine and restate results for the past five years to settle the SEC's claims that the company inaccurately booked some sales.
Hand-Helds: Palm's Q1 loss widens
Palm Inc, a hand-held computer maker whose stock has dropped below US$1, said its first-quarter loss widened as sales fell 20 percent. The net loss widened to US$258.7 million, or US$0.45 a share, from US$32.4 million, or US$0.06, a year earlier, Palm said in a statement. Sales in the quarter ended Aug. 30 declined to US$172.3 million from US$214.3 million. The computer maker recorded costs of US$219.1 million related to the eventual separation of its software and hardware divisions. Palm, which last month was removed from the Standard & Poor's index of the 500 biggest US companies, has had losses in six of the past seven quarters as slow economic growth led consumers and businesses to spend less on electronics.
US economy: Confidence is slipping
Consumer confidence in the US economy probably fell in September for the fourth straight month, reflecting worries about stock market volatility and the possibility of war with Iraq, economists said in advance of today's report. The Conference Board's consumer confidence index probably declined to 92.3 this month, the lowest level since November, from August's 93.5, according to the median of 58 forecasts in a Bloomberg News survey. The New York-based research group will issue the report at 10am Washington time. Consumer spending accounts for about two-thirds of the US economy.
COMBINING FORCES: The 66th Marine Brigade would support the 202nd Military Police Command in its defense of Taipei against ‘decapitation strikes,’ a source said The Marine Corps has deployed more than 100 soldiers and officers of the 66th Marine Brigade to Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport) as part of an effort to bolster defenses around the capital, a source with knowledge of the matter said yesterday. Two weeks ago, a military source said that the Ministry of National Defense ordered the Marine Corps to increase soldier deployments in the Taipei area. The 66th Marine Brigade has been tasked with protecting key areas in Taipei, with the 202nd Military Police Command also continuing to defend the capital. That came after a 2017 decision by the ministry to station
‘INVESTMENT’: Rubio and Arevalo said they discussed the value of democracy, and Rubio thanked the president for Guatemala’s strong diplomatic relationship with Taiwan Guatemalan President Bernardo Arevalo met with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Guatemala City on Wednesday where they signed a deal for Guatemala to accept migrants deported from the US, while Rubio commended Guatemala for its support for Taiwan and said the US would do all it can to facilitate greater Taiwanese investment in Guatemala. Under the migrant agreement announced by Arevalo, the deportees would be returned to their home countries at US expense. It is the second deportation deal that Rubio has reached during a Central America trip that has been focused mainly on immigration. Arevalo said his
‘SOVEREIGN AI’: As of Nov. 19 last year, Taiwan was globally ranked No. 11 for having computing power of 103 petaflops. The governments wants to achieve 1,200 by 2029 The government would intensify efforts to bolster its “Sovereign Artificial Intelligence [AI]” program by setting a goal of elevating the nation’s collective computing power in the public and private sectors to 1,200 peta floating points per second (petaflops) by 2029, the Executive Yuan said yesterday. The goal was set to fulfill President William Lai’s (賴清德) vision of turning Taiwan into an “AI island.” Sovereign AI refers to a nation’s capabilities to produce AI using its own infrastructure, data, workforce and business networks. One petaflop allows 1 trillion calculations per second. As of Nov. 19 last year, Taiwan was globally ranked No. 11 for
Israel yesterday said it has begun preparations for the departure of large numbers of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip in line with US President Donald Trump’s plan for the territory, while Egypt has launched a diplomatic blitz behind the scenes to try and head off the plan. The Trump administration has already dialed back aspects of the proposal after it was widely rejected internationally, saying the relocation of Palestinians would be temporary. US officials have provided few details about how or when the plan would be carried out. Trump yesterday said that Israel would turn Gaza over to the US after the