Toshiba: CEO says demand may slow
Toshiba Corp, the maker of Dynabook laptop computers, said demand for its products may slow in the first half of 2003 and a US attack on Iraq may lower consumer confidence. While Toshiba's sales of notebook personal computers and chips used in televisions and DVD players will rise until Christmas, the outlook for demand in the first half of 2003 is unclear, Chief Executive Officer Tadashi Okamura told Bloomberg News while attending the World Economic Forum's East Asia summit in Kuala Lumpur.
WorldCom: Ebbers's pension in question
WorldCom Inc's board of directors may revoke the US$1.5 million-a-year annual pension awarded former Chief Executive Officer Bernard Ebbers after he resigned in April, people familiar with the matter said. The board today will also discuss finding a replacement for current CEO John Sidgmore and proposals to sell assets to pay creditors of the largest bankruptcy in US history, the people said. The plan to sell assets and cancel some payments made to Ebbers is aimed at helping the company emerge from Chapter 11.
Equities: Shares plummet in Japan
Fears that Japan's decision to fix debt-saddled banks might lead to a spate of corporate failures sent share prices plunging yesterday. The Nikkei fell to a new 19-year low. The dollar surged against the yen. The Nikkei last hit a lower finish on June 16, 1983, when it closed at 8,645.33. On Friday, the Nikkei had gained 91.12 points, or 1.02 percent, to end at 9,027.55. But it had hit a then-19-year low Thursday, when it lost 1.25 percent. In New York, the Dow dropped 2.5 percent to a near five-year low of 7,528.40 Friday.
‘CROWN JEWEL’: Washington ‘can delay and deter’ Chinese President Xi Jinping’s plans for Taiwan, but it is ‘a very delicate situation there,’ the secretary of state said US President Donald Trump is opposed to any change to Taiwan’s “status quo” by force or extortion and would maintain that policy, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told the Hugh Hewitt Show host on Wednesday. The US’ policy is to maintain Taiwan’s “status quo” and to oppose any changes in the situation by force or extortion, Rubio said. Hewitt asked Rubio about the significance of Trump earlier this month speaking with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電) chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家) at the White House, a meeting that Hewitt described as a “big deal.” Asked whether the meeting was an indication of the
‘RELATIVELY STRONG LANGUAGE’: An expert said the state department has not softened its language on China and was ‘probably a little more Taiwan supportive’ China’s latest drills near Taiwan on Monday were “brazen and irresponsible threats,” a US Department of State spokesperson said on Tuesday, while reiterating Washington’s decades-long support of Taipei. “China cannot credibly claim to be a ‘force for stability in a turbulent world’ while issuing brazen and irresponsible threats toward Taiwan,” the unnamed spokesperson said in an e-mailed response to media queries. Washington’s enduring commitment to Taiwan will continue as it has for 45 years and the US “will continue to support Taiwan in the face of China’s military, economic, informational and diplomatic pressure campaign,” the e-mail said. “Alongside our international partners, we firmly
KAOHSIUNG CEREMONY: The contract chipmaker is planning to build 5 fabs in the southern city to gradually expand its 2-nanometer chip capacity Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s biggest contract chipmaker, yesterday confirmed that it plans to hold a ceremony on March 31 to unveil a capacity expansion plan for its most advanced 2-nanometer chips in Kaohsiung, demonstrating its commitment to further investment at home. The ceremony is to be hosted by TSMC cochief operating officer Y.P. Chyn (秦永沛). It did not disclose whether Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) and high-ranking government officials would attend the ceremony. More details are to be released next week, it said. The chipmaker’s latest move came after its announcement earlier this month of an additional US$100 billion
Authorities yesterday elaborated on the rules governing Employment Gold Cards after a US cardholder was barred from entering Taiwan for six years after working without a permit during a 2023 visit. American YouTuber LeLe Farley was barred after already being approved for an Employment Gold Card, he said in a video published on his channel on Saturday. Farley, who has more than 420,000 subscribers on his YouTube channel, was approved for his Gold Card last month, but was told at a check-in counter at the Los Angeles International Airport that he could not enter Taiwan. That was because he previously participated in two
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