■Record labels
EMI reports first-half profit
EMI Group Plc, the world's third-largest recorded music company, reported a fiscal first-half profit, helped by job cuts and a gain on asset sales. Net income in the six months ended Sept. 30 was ?138.4 million (US$219 million), EMI said in a PR Newswire statement. Revenue fell 9.9 percent to ?961.5 million. Sales at the recorded-music unit, the company's largest, will fall in the year ending March, it said. In May, EMI forecast revenue would be about unchanged at the division. First-half revenue at the unit slumped 12 percent to ?759.3 million.
■ Test equipment
Agilent has loss in Q4
Agilent Technologies Inc. had a fourth-quarter loss on higher costs and plans to cut as many as 2,500 jobs. The testing equipment-maker's shares surged as sales rose for the first time in six quarters. The net loss in the quarter ended Oct. 31 was US$236 million, or 51 cents a share, partly on severance costs, compared with net income of US$197 million, or US$0.43, a year ago, Agilent said in a statement. Sales rose 8.1 percent to US$1.74 billion from US$1.61 billion. Agilent has been paring expenses over the past year as sales tumbled partly because of slack demand for gear used to test telecommunications equipment. The job cuts, which represent as much as 6.9 percent of Agilent's workforce, are in addition to 8,000 eliminated positions announced last year.
■ World markets
Vietnam still restrictive
The US says Vietnam's economy remains too much under government control, a finding that may hinder efforts by companies such as Citigroup, Unilever and New York Life to expand business in the 13th most populous nation. The Commerce Department's finding hands a victory to US catfish farmers. Their dumping complaint led Vietnam to make its failed attempt to seek designation as a so-called market economy and avoid the highest possible tariffs when that case is decided. Many US corporations took Vietnam's side, since a market economy finding may ease Vietnam's entry into the WTO, further eliminating market barriers after a US-Vietnam trade agreement in July 2000 opened the door a crack. "We are disappointed that this has been the outcome of the ruling," said Virginia Foote, president of the US-Vietnam Business Council, whose members include Boeing Co, Nike Inc and Motorola Inc. "The effect could be fairly serious for Vietnam's catfish farmers."
■ Inventions
Human transporter on sale
A "human transporter" unveiled with great fanfare a year ago by inventor Dean Kamen went on sale to the public Monday through online retailer Amazon.com The two-wheeled, self-balancing Segway Human Transporter -- with the appearance of a T-shaped scooter -- has been touted as a revolutionary urban transport vehicle, using a system of coordinating gyroscopes, computers and electric motor. The cost was set at US$4,950. Deliveries are set for March. The device was unveiled last December, but had not been on sale to the public. The US postal service and some public safety officials signed contracts for the devices.
The Segway attains speeds of about 19kph. "Since the Segway HT was introduced nearly a year ago, tens of thousands of people have asked how they can get one," said Dean Kamen, the inventor who is chairman of Segway LLC.
Agencies
US President Donald Trump yesterday announced sweeping "reciprocal tariffs" on US trading partners, including a 32 percent tax on goods from Taiwan that is set to take effect on Wednesday. At a Rose Garden event, Trump declared a 10 percent baseline tax on imports from all countries, with the White House saying it would take effect on Saturday. Countries with larger trade surpluses with the US would face higher duties beginning on Wednesday, including Taiwan (32 percent), China (34 percent), Japan (24 percent), South Korea (25 percent), Vietnam (46 percent) and Thailand (36 percent). Canada and Mexico, the two largest US trading
ACTION PLAN: Taiwan would expand procurement from the US and encourage more companies to invest in the US to deepen bilateral cooperation, Lai said The government would not impose reciprocal tariffs in retaliation against US levies, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, as he announced five strategies to address the issue, including pledging to increase Taiwanese companies’ investments in the US. Lai has in the past few days met with administrative and national security officials, as well as representatives from various industries, to explore countermeasures after US President Donald Trump on Wednesday last week announced a 32 percent duty on Taiwanese imports. In a video released yesterday evening, Lai said that Taiwan would not retaliate against the US with higher tariffs and Taiwanese companies’ commitments to
CHIP EXCEPTION: An official said that an exception for Taiwanese semiconductors would have a limited effect, as most are packaged in third nations before being sold The Executive Yuan yesterday decried US President Donald Trump’s 32 percent tariff on Taiwanese goods announced hours earlier as “unfair,” saying it would lodge a representation with Washington. The Cabinet in a statement described the pledged US tariffs, expected to take effect on Wednesday next week, as “deeply unreasonable” and “highly regrettable.” Cabinet spokeswoman Michelle Lee (李慧芝) said that the government would “lodge a solemn representation” with the US Trade Representative and continue negotiating with Washington to “ensure the interests of our nation and industries.” Trump at a news conference in Washington on Wednesday announced a 10 percent baseline tariff on most goods
‘SPECIAL CHANNEL’: Taipei’s most important tasks are to stabilize industries affected by Trump’s trade tariffs and keep negotiations with Washington open, a source said National Security Council Secretary-General Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) arrived in the US for talks with US President Donald Trump’s administration, a source familiar with the matter said on Friday. Wu was leading a delegation for a meeting known as the “special channel,” the Financial Times reported earlier. It marked Trump’s first use of the channel since returning to the White House on Jan. 20. Citing a source familiar with the matter, the Financial Times reported that Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) was also a part of the delegation. The visit came days after China concluded war games around Taiwan and amid Trump’s
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