■COMPUTERS
IBM seeks to buy Sun
International Business Machines Corp (IBM) is in talks to buy Sun Microsystems Inc for at least US$6.5 billion, the Wall Street Journal reported yesterday. The offer would value Sun’s stock at more than double the closing price of US$4.97 in the US on Tuesday, the newspaper reported, citing people familiar with the plan. An agreement may not be reached, the newspaper said. An acquisition of Sun Microsystems would bolster IBM’s Internet, data storage, government and telecommunications business, the newspaper said, citing the sources.
■ECONOMY
Sovereign debt beneficial
Countries with highly rated sovereign debt can withstand the worst effects of the financial crisis, ratings agency Fitch said on Tuesday, citing the US and some western European countries. “High-grade sovereigns can absorb the near-term economic and fiscal costs of the financial crisis and respond to the current extreme shock, whilst still maintaining very strong credit quality over the medium to long term,” Fitch said in a report. “The US, Germany, France and the UK have an exceptionally high degree of fiscal financing and balance sheet flexibility,” it said, citing these as the biggest countries with the top “AAA” rating.
■ECONOMY
Next year better: Trichet
European Central Bank president Jean-Claude Trichet said yesterday that next year “could be the year of a moderate recovery” if confidence returns to markets and the economy. “Like my colleague Ben Bernanke, I think 2009 will be very difficult” and “we are in a period that remains very uncertain,” Trichet said in an interview on France’s Europe 1 radio. Bernanke is the head of the US Federal Reserve. Trichet added that “there is a fairly general consensus in public and private institutions that next year could be the year of a moderate recovery in growth. “But this is not guaranteed. It depends on how the authorities, as well as citizens and companies, regain confidence,” he said.
■AUTOMOBILES
GM, Opel seek solutions
Struggling General Motors (GM) is prepared to only have a minority stake in its German subsidiary Opel, German Economy Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg said on Tuesday. Guttenberg told German public television ARD that a meeting with GM directors in the US had resulted in “an important step” ahead and that GM “supports a European structure for Opel.” The troubled US giant “is prepared to find solutions that would also authorize a minority participation by GM,” which has asked European states to stump up 3.3 billion euros (US$4.3 billion) to help the auto manufacturer and its 50,000 European workers. Guttenberg said both sides had stopped blaming each other for GM’s and Opel’s financial problems and had instead shown a willingness to find a lasting solution for Opel’s future.
■SOUTH KOREA
Unemployment rises
South Korea’s unemployment rate rose to 3.9 percent last month — its highest in almost four years — as companies cut back on recruitment amid the economic downturn, data showed yesterday. The rate, up from 3.6 percent the previous month, was the highest since March 2005 when it stood at 4.1 percent, the National Statistical Office said. Younger people were hardest hit, with the unemployment rate among those aged between 15 and 29 rising to 8.7 percent.
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