■ 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.
‘UPHOLDING PEACE’: Taiwan’s foreign minister thanked the US Congress for using a ‘creative and effective way’ to deter Chinese military aggression toward the nation The US House of Representatives on Monday passed the Taiwan Conflict Deterrence Act, aimed at deterring Chinese aggression toward Taiwan by threatening to publish information about Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials’ “illicit” financial assets if Beijing were to attack. The act would also “restrict financial services for certain immediate family of such officials,” the text of the legislation says. The bill was introduced in January last year by US representatives French Hill and Brad Sherman. After remarks from several members, it passed unanimously. “If China chooses to attack the free people of Taiwan, [the bill] requires the Treasury secretary to publish the illicit
NO HUMAN ERROR: After the incident, the Coast Guard Administration said it would obtain uncrewed aerial vehicles and vessels to boost its detection capacity Authorities would improve border control to prevent unlawful entry into Taiwan’s waters and safeguard national security, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday after a Chinese man reached the nation’s coast on an inflatable boat, saying he “defected to freedom.” The man was found on a rubber boat when he was about to set foot on Taiwan at the estuary of Houkeng River (後坑溪) near Taiping Borough (太平) in New Taipei City’s Linkou District (林口), authorities said. The Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) northern branch said it received a report at 6:30am yesterday morning from the New Taipei City Fire Department about a
A senior US military official yesterday warned his Chinese counterpart against Beijing’s “dangerous” moves in the South China Sea during the first talks of their kind between the commanders. Washington and Beijing remain at odds on issues from trade to the status of Taiwan and China’s increasingly assertive approach in disputed maritime regions, but they have sought to re-establish regular military-to-military talks in a bid to prevent flashpoint disputes from spinning out of control. Samuel Paparo, commander of the US Indo-Pacific Command, and Wu Yanan (吳亞男), head of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Southern Theater Command, talked via videoconference. Paparo “underscored the importance
CHINA POLICY: At the seventh US-EU Dialogue on China, the two sides issued strong support for Taiwan and condemned China’s actions in the South China Sea The US and EU issued a joint statement on Wednesday supporting Taiwan’s international participation, notably omitting the “one China” policy in a departure from previous similar statements, following high-level talks on China and the Indo-Pacific region. The statement also urged China to show restraint in the Taiwan Strait. US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell and European External Action Service Secretary-General Stefano Sannino cochaired the seventh US-EU Dialogue on China and the sixth US-EU Indo-Pacific Consultations from Monday to Tuesday. Since the Indo-Pacific consultations were launched in 2021, references to the “one China” policy have appeared in every statement apart from the
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