■ CHEMICALS
Bayer's Q2 profits surge
German pharmaceutical and chemical company Bayer AG yesterday reported a 46 percent increase in net profits in the second quarter, driven by a one-off gain. Net profit in the three months to June 30 was 660 million euros (US$912 million), up from 452 million euros during the same period last year. Analysts polled by Dow Jones Newswires, however, had predicted an increase to 687 million euros. Profit was boosted by a 231 million-euro book gain from the sale of the Wolff Walsrode group, a producer of cellulose-based chemicals, to Dow Chemical Co.
■ PATENT RIGHTS
Microsoft wins MP3 appeal
A US judge on Monday overturned a jury verdict ordering Microsoft to pay Alcatel-Lucent US$1.5 billion for infringing on the French firm's patents. US Senior District Court Judge Rudi Brewster issued a written ruling "in favor of Microsoft and against Lucent ... terminating the case," court documents show. The trial that ended in US District Court in the city of San Diego in February centered on MP3 audio technology used in the Windows Media Player software. Alcatel-Lucent argued in court that technology used to encode and decode digital audio files in Media Player infringed on two of its patents. Microsoft said that it had paid Munich-based licensing firm Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft US$16 million to legally use the disputed MP3 technology.
■ AUTOMOBILES
Fiat, Chery to form JV
The Italian industrial conglomerate Fiat and Chery Automobiles of China said yesterday they had signed a preliminary agreement to create a joint vehicle manufacturing firm. The company, located in Wuhu in Anhui Province, would produce and distribute Fiat and Alfa Romeo models as well as Chery group vehicles. Production, expected to total 175,000 vehicles a year, is projected to begin in 2009.
■ WINE
Aussie exports hit record
Australian wine exports reached A$3 billion (US$2.58 billion) for the first time in the 12 months to July, official data released yesterday showed. The Australian Wine and Brandy Corporation figures also showed that the volume of wine exported exceeded 800 million liters for the first time over the same period. Corporation chairman John Moore said the Australian wine industry's focus on premium wines was a major factor behind the 8 percent growth in exports. The corporation said moves to sell higher quality wines in North America had proved successful, but Britain remained Australia's largest export market for wine.
■ OUTSOURCING
Wipro buying Infocrossing
Indian outsourcing company Wipro Ltd is purchasing NASDAQ-listed Infocrossing Inc in a deal that values the acquisition target at about US$600 million. Wipro has offered to pay US$18.70 per share for the New Jersey-based company that provides select outsourcing services to mid-sized companies in the US, Wipro chief financial officer Suresh Senapaty said on Monday. The acquisition, the biggest-ever by an Indian services company, will help Wipro enhance its offerings to customers, especially those involving off-shoring of technology infrastructure services by Western companies to low-cost destinations like India, he said. The board of Infocrossing has approved and recommended the deal to its shareholders.
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
TRIP TO TAIWAN: The resumption of group tours from China should be discussed between the two agencies tasked with handling cross-strait tourism, the MAC said President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday reassured China-based businesspeople that he would follow former president Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) cross-strait policy to facilitate healthy and orderly exchanges with Beijing and build a resilient economy. “As president, I have three missions. First, I will follow president Tsai’s ‘four commitments’ to ensure that the country continues to exist and survive,” Lai told participants at a Lunar New Year event in Taipei hosted by the Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF). Lai said his second mission is to uphold the “four pillars of peace” by bolstering national defense, developing a growing and resilient economy, building partnerships with
‘INVESTMENT’: Rubio and Arevalo said they discussed the value of democracy, and Rubio thanked the president for Guatemala’s strong diplomatic relationship with Taiwan Guatemalan President Bernardo Arevalo met with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Guatemala City on Wednesday where they signed a deal for Guatemala to accept migrants deported from the US, while Rubio commended Guatemala for its support for Taiwan and said the US would do all it can to facilitate greater Taiwanese investment in Guatemala. Under the migrant agreement announced by Arevalo, the deportees would be returned to their home countries at US expense. It is the second deportation deal that Rubio has reached during a Central America trip that has been focused mainly on immigration. Arevalo said his