■ Computers
Mike Cannon moves to Dell
Dell Inc on Wednesday named Selectron Corp chief executive Mike Cannon as the man to head up the computer company's newly formed global operations division, where he will oversee all manufacturing, procurement and supply chain activities. Cannon will report directly to Michael Dell. Cannon's hiring is the latest in a flurry of changes to the senior ranks of the company. Solectron said its chief financial officer, Paul Tufano, will serve as interim CEO of the electronics manufacturer until a permanent replacement is found.
■ Economy
Strong Japanese growth
Japan's economy grew by an unexpectedly strong 1.2 percent in the fourth quarter of last year, or an annualized pace of 4.8 percent, helped by gains in consumer spending, the government said yesterday. The fast clip marked a significant improvement on the three months to September, when the world's second-largest economy had expanded by a tepid 0.1 percent from the previous quarter, according to the latest estimates. The data lent support to the Bank of Japan's case for a rise in its super-low interest rates from 0.25 percent, although market views are divided on whether the central bank will make a quick move at its meeting next week.
■ Trade
Korea-US FTA round ends
The US said on Wednesday it has completed "the most successful" round of negotiations with South Korea to forge a free trade agreement since talks began in June last year. The two allies are racing to conclude what could be the biggest US trade deal in 14 years by the end of March to give the US Congress its requisite three months to consider the deal. "We just completed our seventh and, in my view, the most successful negotiating round so far in the KORUS [Korea-US] FTA," chief US negotiator Wendy Cutler told reporters in Washington.
■ Music
Second EMI profit warning
Shares in music company EMI Group PLC tumbled more than 10 percent on Wednesday after it issued its second profit warning in as many months. EMI, which has Norah Jones, Coldplay, Robbie Williams and the Beatles back catalog on its books, blamed poor CD sales in North America as it forecast that revenues from its recorded music unit would fall by around 15 percent for the 2006 financial year. Those declines meant profits will be "significantly below current market expectations," the company said. EMI shares closed 12 percent lower at £2.1075 (US$4.13) on the London Stock Exchange, after earlier losing 15 percent.
■ Luxury goods
LVMH posts higher profits
LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton, the Paris-based luxury goods empire, said on Wednesday its wines and spirits division led a 30 percent increase in net profit last year, as champagne drinkers moved upmarket to more expensive brands of bubbly. The maker of Louis Vuitton bags, Hennessy cognac and TAG Heuer watches posted net profits of 1.88 billion euros (US$2.46 billion) for last year, compared with 1.44 billion euros the previous year. Revenue jumped 10 percent to 15.31 billion euros from 13.91 billion euros. Chairman and CEO Bernard Arnault said the results "confirmed the strong potential of our high-growth, rising-star brands and the group's leading position in emerging markets."
Taiwanese actress Barbie Hsu (徐熙媛) has died of pneumonia at the age of 48 while on a trip to Japan, where she contracted influenza during the Lunar New Year holiday, her sister confirmed today through an agent. "Our whole family came to Japan for a trip, and my dearest and most kindhearted sister Barbie Hsu died of influenza-induced pneumonia and unfortunately left us," Hsu's sister and talk show hostess Dee Hsu (徐熙娣) said. "I was grateful to be her sister in this life and that we got to care for and spend time with each other. I will always be grateful to
REMINDER: Of the 6.78 million doses of flu vaccine Taiwan purchased for this flu season, about 200,000 are still available, an official said, following Big S’ death As news broke of the death of Taiwanese actress and singer Barbie Hsu (徐熙媛), also known as Big S (大S), from severe flu complications, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and doctors yesterday urged people at high risk to get vaccinated and be alert to signs of severe illness. Hsu’s family yesterday confirmed that the actress died on a family holiday in Japan due to pneumonia during the Lunar New Year holiday. CDC Deputy Director-General Tseng Shu-hui (曾淑慧) told an impromptu news conference that hospital visits for flu-like illnesses from Jan. 19 to Jan. 25 reached 162,352 — the highest
COMBINING FORCES: The 66th Marine Brigade would support the 202nd Military Police Command in its defense of Taipei against ‘decapitation strikes,’ a source said The Marine Corps has deployed more than 100 soldiers and officers of the 66th Marine Brigade to Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport) as part of an effort to bolster defenses around the capital, a source with knowledge of the matter said yesterday. Two weeks ago, a military source said that the Ministry of National Defense ordered the Marine Corps to increase soldier deployments in the Taipei area. The 66th Marine Brigade has been tasked with protecting key areas in Taipei, with the 202nd Military Police Command also continuing to defend the capital. That came after a 2017 decision by the ministry to station
PETITIONS: A Democratic Progressive Party official quoted President William Lai as saying that civil society groups are organizing the recall drives at the grassroots level Some civil society groups yesterday announced that they have collected enough signatures to pass the first-stage threshold to initiate a recall vote against Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators in 18 constituencies nationwide, saying that they would submit the signatures to the Central Election Commission (CEC) today. They also said that they expected to pass the threshold in eight more constituencies in the coming days, meaning the number of KMT legislators facing a recall vote could reach 26. The groups set up stations to collect signatures at local marketplaces and busy commercial districts. The legislators their petition drives target include Fu