■OIL
Petrobras to start Tupi tests
Brazilian state oil company Petrobras said on Friday it will begin long-duration tests next year in the recently discovered Tupi oil field — a first step toward establishing the size of its reserves. Petroleo Brasileiro SA CEO Sergio Gabrielli said the testing is expected to yield 20,000 to 30,000 barrels of crude a day beginning in the first quarter of next year. Long-duration tests involve installing a rig that measures pressure and other aspects of the oil flow over a period of months.
■ TECHNOLOGY
HP’s bid for EDS approved
EU antitrust regulators have approved the proposed purchase of technology services provider Electronic Data Systems Corp (EDS) by Hewlett-Packard Co. The European Commission’s decision, announced on Friday, says the deal between the two US companies would not hinder competition on the EU market. It said EDS and HP did not compete heavily against each other in the IT markets they do business in. Hewlett-Packard announced in May it would pay US$13.2 billion for EDS.
■SATELLITE RADIO
Regulators approve merger
Federal regulators formally approved the merger of the US’ only two satellite radio operators on Friday, ending a 16-month drama. Sirius Satellite Radio Inc’s US$3.3 billion buyout of rival XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc will mean 18 million-plus subscribers will be able to receive programming from both services. Executives say it will mean huge cost savings that will lead to a first-ever profit for the relatively nascent industry. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voted 3-2 to approve the buyout, with the tie-breaking vote coming on Friday night from Republican commissioner Deborah Taylor Tate. Tate had insisted that the companies settle charges that they violated FCC rules before she would approve the deal. The companies agreed this week to pay US$19.7 million to the US Treasury for violations related to radio receivers and ground-based signal repeaters.
■AUTOMAKERS
Enclave ready for China
General Motors (GM) said on Friday it was preparing to begin exports of the US-made Buick Enclave luxury crossover utility vehicle to China as early as next month. The announcement by the No. 1 US automaker comes as the Detroit giants are struggling to hold domestic market share in the face of rising imports, mainly from Japanese manufacturers. GM said in a statement Chinese officials visited the Lansing, Michigan, assembly plant “to observe operations in preparation for the manufacture of US-built Enclaves crossovers for export” to China. “Pending approval, China-bound Enclaves could begin rolling off the assembly line as early as next month,” GM said.
■COFFEE SHOPS
Starbucks minimizes smell
Starbucks Corp, the world’s largest coffee-shop chain, will keep selling warm breakfast sandwiches at its stores after altering the recipes to minimize the smell. Starbucks founder and chief executive officer Howard Schultz, 55, earlier said the chain would discontinue breakfast sandwiches by Sept. 30 because their smell overwhelmed the aroma of coffee in the cafes. “We are not reversing our decision to replace the breakfast sandwiches, but rather we are continuing to evolve our food offerings,” Starbucks said in an e-mailed response to questions. “We have found small ingredient changes that address the aroma issues of our current breakfast sandwiches, and have implemented these already.”
A Chinese aircraft carrier group entered Japan’s economic waters over the weekend, before exiting to conduct drills involving fighter jets, the Japanese Ministry of Defense said yesterday. The Liaoning aircraft carrier, two missile destroyers and one fast combat supply ship sailed about 300km southwest of Japan’s easternmost island of Minamitori on Saturday, a ministry statement said. It was the first time a Chinese aircraft carrier had entered that part of Japan’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ), a ministry spokesman said. “We think the Chinese military is trying to improve its operational capability and ability to conduct operations in distant areas,” the spokesman said. China’s growing
Nine retired generals from Taiwan, Japan and the US have been invited to participate in a tabletop exercise hosted by the Taipei School of Economics and Political Science Foundation tomorrow and Wednesday that simulates a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan in 2030, the foundation said yesterday. The five retired Taiwanese generals would include retired admiral Lee Hsi-min (李喜明), joined by retired US Navy admiral Michael Mullen and former chief of staff of the Japan Self-Defense Forces general Shigeru Iwasaki, it said. The simulation aims to offer strategic insights into regional security and peace in the Taiwan Strait, it added. Foundation chair Huang Huang-hsiung
PUBLIC WARNING: The two students had been tricked into going to Hong Kong for a ‘high-paying’ job, which sent them to a scam center in Cambodia Police warned the public not to trust job advertisements touting high pay abroad following the return of two college students over the weekend who had been trafficked and forced to work at a cyberscam center in Cambodia. The two victims, surnamed Lee (李), 18, and Lin (林), 19, were interviewed by police after landing in Taiwan on Saturday. Taichung’s Chingshui Police Precinct said in a statement yesterday that the two students are good friends, and Lin had suspended her studies after seeing the ad promising good pay to work in Hong Kong. Lee’s grandfather on Thursday reported to police that Lee had sent
BUILDUP: US General Dan Caine said Chinese military maneuvers are not routine exercises, but instead are ‘rehearsals for a forced unification’ with Taiwan China poses an increasingly aggressive threat to the US and deterring Beijing is the Pentagon’s top regional priority amid its rapid military buildup and invasion drills near Taiwan, US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said on Tuesday. “Our pacing threat is communist China,” Hegseth told the US House of Representatives Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense during an oversight hearing with US General Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. “Beijing is preparing for war in the Indo-Pacific as part of its broader strategy to dominate that region and then the world,” Hegseth said, adding that if it succeeds, it could derail
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