■ INTERNET
Google expands AdSense
Google said on Wednesday it is expanding its advertising kingdom to include the booming online computer game market. AdSense for Games software that lets Web site operators weave video, text, or picture advertisements into online games is being tested in the US. Industry statistics indicate that more than a quarter of Internet users, approximately 200 million people, play games online and that their ranks are growing at a rate of 17 percent annually. “AdSense for Games gives game developers a new way to monetize their games and advertisers additional tools to reach their audiences,” Google said in a message announcing the software’s debut.
■ VIDEO GAMES
Sony, Microsoft in race
Video game rivals Sony and Microsoft are going head-to-head in virtual worlds for their home consoles later this year. Both companies announced their services, which use graphic images that represent players called “avatars,” at the Tokyo Game Show yesterday. Sony Corp’s twice delayed online “Home” virtual world for the PlayStation 3 console will be available sometime later this year, while Microsoft Corp, which competes with its Xbox 360, is starting “New Xbox Experience” worldwide on Nov. 19. Internet search leader Google Inc has unveiled a similar software service called “Lively.” Japanese companies have also set up such communities for personal computers.
■ JAPAN
PM calls for emergency aid
Prime Minister Taro Aso, alarmed by an escalating global financial crisis, called for more action yesterday to bolster the country’s faltering economy. Kosuke Hori, policy chief of Aso’s Liberal Democratic Party, said that the prime minister asked ruling coalition leaders to consider crafting an additional emergency package beyond the US$18 billion economic stimulus plan approved by the lower house on Wednesday. In the new plan, officials may turn to public works spending or tax breaks to boost securities trading, Hori said, referring to the situation as “extremely urgent.” The current batch of measures, expected to gain final parliamentary approval next week as part of an extra budget for this fiscal year, includes assistance to small businesses and other pump-priming measures to shore up the economy.
■ STEEL
ArcelorMittal outlook good
ArcelorMittal SA, the world’s largest steelmaker, said yesterday that it expected profits and cash flow to rise in the final six months of the year, despite a slowing economy. The company said EBITDA — earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization — would exceed US$8.5 billion in the third quarter and both EBITDA and cash flow during the second half of the year would be higher than the first half.
■ FINANCE
Ayala may bid for AIG unit
Philippines conglomerate Ayala Corp said yesterday it may bid for the Philippines unit of troubled US firm American Insurance Group (AIG). AIG this week put Philippine-American Life and General Insurance Co (Philamlife), the country’s largest and most profitable insurer, up for auction to help repay last month’s US$85 billion loan from the US Federal Reserve. Ayala told the Philippine Stock Exchange in a letter that it is “interested to look into the possible acquisition of Philippine American Life and General Insurance Co.”
GAINING STEAM: The scheme initially failed to gather much attention, with only 188 cards issued in its first year, but gained popularity amid the COVID-19 pandemic Applications for the Employment Gold Card have increased in the past few years, with the card having been issued to a total of 13,191 people from 101 countries since its introduction in 2018, the National Development Council (NDC) said yesterday. Those who have received the card have included celebrities, such as former NBA star Dwight Howard and Australian-South Korean cheerleader Dahye Lee, the NDC said. The four-in-one Employment Gold Card combines a work permit, resident visa, Alien Resident Certificate (ARC) and re-entry permit. It was first introduced in February 2018 through the Act Governing Recruitment and Employment of Foreign Professionals (外國專業人才延攬及雇用法),
WARNING: From Jan. 1 last year to the end of last month, 89 Taiwanese have gone missing or been detained in China, the MAC said, urging people to carefully consider travel to China Lax enforcement had made virtually moot regulations banning civil servants from making unauthorized visits to China, the Control Yuan said yesterday. Several agencies allowed personnel to travel to China after they submitted explanations for the trip written using artificial intelligence or provided no reason at all, the Control Yuan said in a statement, following an investigation headed by Control Yuan member Lin Wen-cheng (林文程). The probe identified 318 civil servants who traveled to China without permission in the past 10 years, but the true number could be close to 1,000, the Control Yuan said. The public employees investigated were not engaged in national
The zero emissions ship Porrima P111 was launched yesterday in Kaohsiung, showcasing the nation’s advancement in green technology, city Mayor Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) said. The nation last year acquired the Swiss-owned vessel, formerly known as Turanor PlanetSolar, in a bid to boost Taiwan’s technology sector, as well as ecotourism in Palau, Chen said at the ship’s launch ceremony at Singda Harbor. Palauan President Surangel Whipps Jr and Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) also attended the event. The original vessel was the first solar-powered ship to circumnavigate the globe in a voyage from 2010 to 2012. Taiwan-based Porrima Inc (保利馬) installed upgrades with
ENHANCE DETERRENCE: Taiwan has to display ‘fierce resolve’ to defend itself for China to understand that the costs of war outweigh potential gains, Koo said Taiwan’s armed forces must reach a high level of combat readiness by 2027 to effectively deter a potential Chinese invasion, Minister of National Defense Wellington Koo (顧立雄) said in an interview with the Chinese-language Liberty Times (sister newspaper of the Taipei Times) published yesterday. His comments came three days after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told the US Senate that deterring a Chinese attack on Taiwan requires making a conflict “cost more than what it’s worth.” Rubio made the remarks in response to a question about US policy on Taiwan’s defense from Republican Senator John Cornyn, who said that Chinese
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