■ Stock markets
IBM to exit Tokyo exchange
IBM Corp, the world's biggest computer company, said it will voluntarily withdraw from the Tokyo Stock Exchange, citing cost considerations. IBM, based in Armonk, New York, is reconsidering its listings on stock exchanges worldwide, the company said in a release distributed to the Tokyo exchange. The company last year withdrew from the Frankfurt, Swiss and Vienna stock exchanges.
■ Electronics
Fast battery announced
Leading Japanese electronics maker Toshiba said yesterday it has developed a light and thin prototype battery that recharges 80 percent of capacity in just a minute. The development "makes long recharge times a thing of the past," the company said in a statement, noting one minute is roughly 60 times faster than typical lithium-ion batteries. The new battery measures 62mm by 35mm and is 3.8mm thick. It also has a long life, losing only 1 percent of capacity after 1,000 cycles of discharging and recharging and can operate at temperatures as low as minus 40 degrees Celsius, it said. Toshiba will put the new battery to commercial products next year.
■ Marketing
McDonald's lures rap artists
Rap artists are accustomed to name-checking prestige car, clothing and jewelry brands in their lyrics. But if McDonald's has its way Snoop Dogg, Jay-Z and 50 Cent may soon be giving it up for the humble beef burger. The fast-food giant is reported to be launching a campaign that will offer financial incentives to rap artists who mention its Big Mac burger in their lyrics. McDonald's will not pay an upfront fee, but intends to pay the artist between US$1 and US$5 each time a track is played on the radio. The company hopes to have several such songs on the airwaves by the summer.
■ Textiles
China's exports skyrocket
Chinese clothing exports into the US and Europe soared last month, the second month after the end of international quotas, a situation that might fuel efforts by trade groups to request limits, the Wall Street Journal said, citing numbers from China's General Administration of Customs. That month, apparel exported to the US rose 147 percent over the same month a year ago, to US$650 million, according to the newspaper. In Europe, textile exports rose to US$783 million, a 188 percent increase, the Journal said. Countries that also produce garments say that their businesses can't compete with Chinese wages, the newspaper reported. In Madagascar, about 5,000 industry jobs have been lost so far this year, the Journal said.
■ Entertainment
Case won't affect offerings
The music and film industries will continue to offer digital copies of songs and movies online for a price even if they lose a landmark Supreme Court case focusing on consumers who steal copyrighted material over the Internet, those industries' chief lobbyists said on Monday. "Consumers want a legal, hassle-free, reasonable-cost way to get their products online," said Dan Glickman, head of the Motion Picture Association of America. "There's no question you'll see a lot more opportunity for people in their homes to enjoy music and movies and other creative material."
AIR SUPPORT: The Ministry of National Defense thanked the US for the delivery, adding that it was an indicator of the White House’s commitment to the Taiwan Relations Act Deputy Minister of National Defense Po Horng-huei (柏鴻輝) and Representative to the US Alexander Yui on Friday attended a delivery ceremony for the first of Taiwan’s long-awaited 66 F-16C/D Block 70 jets at a Lockheed Martin Corp factory in Greenville, South Carolina. “We are so proud to be the global home of the F-16 and to support Taiwan’s air defense capabilities,” US Representative William Timmons wrote on X, alongside a photograph of Taiwanese and US officials at the event. The F-16C/D Block 70 jets Taiwan ordered have the same capabilities as aircraft that had been upgraded to F-16Vs. The batch of Lockheed Martin
GRIDLOCK: The National Fire Agency’s Special Search and Rescue team is on standby to travel to the countries to help out with the rescue effort A powerful earthquake rocked Myanmar and neighboring Thailand yesterday, killing at least three people in Bangkok and burying dozens when a high-rise building under construction collapsed. Footage shared on social media from Myanmar’s second-largest city showed widespread destruction, raising fears that many were trapped under the rubble or killed. The magnitude 7.7 earthquake, with an epicenter near Mandalay in Myanmar, struck at midday and was followed by a strong magnitude 6.4 aftershock. The extent of death, injury and destruction — especially in Myanmar, which is embroiled in a civil war and where information is tightly controlled at the best of times —
Taiwan was ranked the fourth-safest country in the world with a score of 82.9, trailing only Andorra, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar in Numbeo’s Safety Index by Country report. Taiwan’s score improved by 0.1 points compared with last year’s mid-year report, which had Taiwan fourth with a score of 82.8. However, both scores were lower than in last year’s first review, when Taiwan scored 83.3, and are a long way from when Taiwan was named the second-safest country in the world in 2021, scoring 84.8. Taiwan ranked higher than Singapore in ninth with a score of 77.4 and Japan in 10th with
SECURITY RISK: If there is a conflict between China and Taiwan, ‘there would likely be significant consequences to global economic and security interests,’ it said China remains the top military and cyber threat to the US and continues to make progress on capabilities to seize Taiwan, a report by US intelligence agencies said on Tuesday. The report provides an overview of the “collective insights” of top US intelligence agencies about the security threats to the US posed by foreign nations and criminal organizations. In its Annual Threat Assessment, the agencies divided threats facing the US into two broad categories, “nonstate transnational criminals and terrorists” and “major state actors,” with China, Russia, Iran and North Korea named. Of those countries, “China presents the most comprehensive and robust military threat
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