■ Consuming
iPod index unveiled
An Australian investment bank has developed a new indicator for tracking international currency values using the cost of an Apple iPod as a benchmark. Commonwealth Securities Ltd last week announced its iPod Index to assess the value of global currencies by comparing the cost of a 2-gigabyte iPod Nano music player in US dollars across different countries. The index is based on the economic principle that one US dollar should buy the same quantity of goods across all countries and that currencies will fluctuate to close any gaps in purchasing power.
■ Aviation
No offer for Alitalia
Air France-KLM has decided not to make an offer to buy Italy's cash-strapped Alitalia because of the high asking price and conditions set by the Italian government, the French daily La Tribune reported. "The decision was taken on Wednesday by the board the day that Jean-Cyril Spinetta, France-KLM chairman, announced his resignation from the board of Alitalia," the paper said in an article that appeared yesterday, without saying where it got its information. "The terms and conditions set by Rome is judged by France-KLM to be unreason-able," the business daily said.
■ Electronics
Philips' Q4 profit doubles
Royal Philips NV yesterday reported its fourth-quarter net profit doubled due mostly to lower tax costs, even as sales slipped due to weakness at the company's consumer electronics division. Net profit was 680 million euros (US$882 million), up from 332 million euros a year earlier, when Philips paid a one-time tax charge of 240 million euros on shares it holds in Taiwan chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電). Fourth-quarter sales fell by less than 1 percent to 8.13 billion euros from 8.19 billion euros as sales dropped 6 percent at the company's consumer electronics division.
■ Automobiles
Toyota plans low-cost car
Toyota Motor Corp plans to build a low-cost car undercutting Renault's emerging-market Logan through a "radical" rethink in design and production, the president of the fast-growing Japanese automaker said. "The focus is on low-cost technology," Toyota president Katsuaki Watanabe told Britain's Financial Times in an interview published yesterday. He declined to set a price for a low-cost car but said it would be "at least" less than the Logan. Renault has started production of the Logan, which will cost from 5,000 euros (US$6,200) on up, touted as a budget model for consumers in emerging economies.
■ Computers
Sun to use Intel chips
Server and software maker Sun Microsystems Inc has agreed to use chips from Intel Corp in some of its servers and for Intel to endorse Sun's Solaris operating system, a person close to the deal said. Specifics of the deal were not disclosed. The deal marks a major design win for Intel, the world's largest computer chip maker, which has been fighting to reverse plunging profits and regain market share lost to archrival Advanced Micro Devices Inc. Intel began losing ground to AMD several years ago as customers began migrating to AMD-designed chips that were seen as more energy-efficient. Since 2003, Sun had relied exclusively on AMD.
The CIA has a message for Chinese government officials worried about their place in Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) government: Come work with us. The agency released two Mandarin-language videos on social media on Thursday inviting disgruntled officials to contact the CIA. The recruitment videos posted on YouTube and X racked up more than 5 million views combined in their first day. The outreach comes as CIA Director John Ratcliffe has vowed to boost the agency’s use of intelligence from human sources and its focus on China, which has recently targeted US officials with its own espionage operations. The videos are “aimed at
STEADFAST FRIEND: The bills encourage increased Taiwan-US engagement and address China’s distortion of UN Resolution 2758 to isolate Taiwan internationally The Presidential Office yesterday thanked the US House of Representatives for unanimously passing two Taiwan-related bills highlighting its solid support for Taiwan’s democracy and global participation, and for deepening bilateral relations. One of the bills, the Taiwan Assurance Implementation Act, requires the US Department of State to periodically review its guidelines for engagement with Taiwan, and report to the US Congress on the guidelines and plans to lift self-imposed limitations on US-Taiwan engagement. The other bill is the Taiwan International Solidarity Act, which clarifies that UN Resolution 2758 does not address the issue of the representation of Taiwan or its people in
US Indo-Pacific Commander Admiral Samuel Paparo on Friday expressed concern over the rate at which China is diversifying its military exercises, the Financial Times (FT) reported on Saturday. “The rates of change on the depth and breadth of their exercises is the one non-linear effect that I’ve seen in the last year that wakes me up at night or keeps me up at night,” Paparo was quoted by FT as saying while attending the annual Sedona Forum at the McCain Institute in Arizona. Paparo also expressed concern over the speed with which China was expanding its military. While the US
SHIFT: Taiwan’s better-than-expected first-quarter GDP and signs of weakness in the US have driven global capital back to emerging markets, the central bank head said The central bank yesterday blamed market speculation for the steep rise in the local currency, and urged exporters and financial institutions to stay calm and stop panic sell-offs to avoid hurting their own profitability. The nation’s top monetary policymaker said that it would step in, if necessary, to maintain order and stability in the foreign exchange market. The remarks came as the NT dollar yesterday closed up NT$0.919 to NT$30.145 against the US dollar in Taipei trading, after rising as high as NT$29.59 in intraday trading. The local currency has surged 5.85 percent against the greenback over the past two sessions, central
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