■ ELECTRONICS
RIM countersues Motorola
Research In Motion Ltd (RIM) is suing Motorola Inc over several patents used for wireless devices such as RIM's BlackBerry e-mail devices and Motorola's Razr smart phones. The Waterloo, Ontario-based company is asking a court in Dallas, Texas, to declare Motorola is breaching commitments it made to license essential patents to competitors on a fair and reasonable basis. RIM also says in a court filing on Saturday that Motorola is violating nine RIM patents and is breaching a 2003 agreement by refusing to negotiate reasonable terms for an extension beyond last month. RIM's filing came one day after Motorola filed a suit against RIM, claiming it violated some of Motorola's patents.
■ ELECTRONICS
Sony plans bigger screens
Sony Corp plans to invest ?22 billion (US$204 million) to make larger organic displays. Sony will start making the investment in the six months starting in October, the company said yesterday in a statement to the Tokyo Stock Exchange. Chief executive officer Howard Stringer said on Dec. 11 that Sony will develop larger-sized organic screens -- organic electroluminescent flat panels -- as one of the main engines of growth. Organic displays are made of materials that emit light when electrically charged; consume less power than liquid-crystal displays. Sony now sells TVs with an 11-inch organic screen. The investment is "the first step toward making 20-inch organic screens, and bigger ones," Sony spokesman Chisato Kitsukawa said in a telephone interview.
■ INVESTMENT
New fund for Asia
JPMorgan Chase & Co said yesterday it is expanding into Asian private equity with the launch of a US$750 million fund to invest in retail, industry, health care and other areas. The fund will be an extension of the bank's New York-based private equity business and will be led by Varun Bery and John Troy, cofounders of TVG Capital Partners, JPMorgan Asia Pacific said. "We see a big opportunity to enhance JPMorgan's private equity base in the region," Bery said in the statement. "There is significant potential to invest in our target sectors and geographies and we are looking forward to taking advantage of JPMorgan's strength to capitalize on it."
■ AUTOMOBILES
Cayenne SUVs recalled
Porsche AG said on Monday that it has recalled nearly 19,000 of its Cayenne sport utility vehicles (SUVs) after it found instances of the fuel line coming into contact with the engine block while the car was being driven. The company said the decision affected 18,856 Cayennes sold worldwide between Nov. 30, 2006 and Jan. 18. In a statement, Porsche said that there was a possibility that movement by the engine while driving the Cayenne could cause the fuel line to make contact with the engine compartment's cladding that can cause a knocking sound and leave abrasions on the fuel line. Porsche said there had been five complaints so far, but no injuries or accidents. The company said the free repair takes about 40 minutes.
■ TRADE
Mexico offers Cuba help
Mexico has agreed to restructure US$400 million in Cuban debt in an effort to boost trade between the two nations, Mexico's export development bank Bancomext said. Cuba stopped payments on the defaulted debt in 2002, undermining bilateral trade.
SLOW-MOVING STORM: The typhoon has started moving north, but at a very slow pace, adding uncertainty to the extent of its impact on the nation Work and classes have been canceled across the nation today because of Typhoon Krathon, with residents in the south advised to brace for winds that could reach force 17 on the Beaufort scale as the Central Weather Administration (CWA) forecast that the storm would make landfall there. Force 17 wind with speeds of 56.1 to 61.2 meters per second, the highest number on the Beaufort scale, rarely occur and could cause serious damage. Krathon could be the second typhoon to land in southwestern Taiwan, following typhoon Elsie in 1996, CWA records showed. As of 8pm yesterday, the typhoon’s center was 180km
TYPHOON DAY: Taitung, Pingtung, Tainan, Chiayi, Hualien and Kaohsiung canceled work and classes today. The storm is to start moving north this afternoon The outer rim of Typhoon Krathon made landfall in Taitung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春半島) at about noon yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, adding that the eye of the storm was expected to hit land tomorrow. The CWA at 2:30pm yesterday issued a land alert for Krathon after issuing a sea alert on Sunday. It also expanded the scope of the sea alert to include waters north of Taiwan Strait, in addition to its south, from the Bashi Channel to the Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島). As of 6pm yesterday, the typhoon’s center was 160km south of
STILL DANGEROUS: The typhoon was expected to weaken, but it would still maintain its structure, with high winds and heavy rain, the weather agency said One person had died amid heavy winds and rain brought by Typhoon Krathon, while 70 were injured and two people were unaccounted for, the Central Emergency Operation Center said yesterday, while work and classes have been canceled nationwide today for the second day. The Hualien County Fire Department said that a man in his 70s had fallen to his death at about 11am on Tuesday while trimming a tree at his home in Shoufeng Township (壽豐). Meanwhile, the Yunlin County Fire Department received a report of a person falling into the sea at about 1pm on Tuesday, but had to suspend search-and-rescue
RULES BROKEN: The MAC warned Chinese not to say anything that would be harmful to the autonomous status of Taiwan or undermine its sovereignty A Chinese couple accused of disrupting a pro-democracy event in Taipei organized by Hong Kong residents has been deported, the National Immigration Agency said in a statement yesterday afternoon. A Chinese man, surnamed Yao (姚), and his wife were escorted by immigration officials to Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, where they boarded a flight to China before noon yesterday, the agency said. The agency said that it had annulled the couple’s entry permits, citing alleged contraventions of the Regulations Governing the Approval of Entry of People of the Mainland Area into the Taiwan Area (大陸地區人民進入台灣地區許可辦法). The couple applied to visit a family member in
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