■SOFTWARE
Oracle makes concessions
The EU’s competition watchdog on Monday welcomed concessions made by US business software giant Oracle over its bid for Sun Microsystems, saying the deal is now likely to be approved. EU Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes “is optimistic that the case will have a satisfactory outcome, while ensuring that the transaction will not have an adverse impact on effective competition in the European database market,” the EU’s executive arm said in a statement. “Today’s announcement by Oracle of a series of undertakings to customers, developers and users of MySQL [open source database] is an important new element to be taken into account in the ongoing proceedings,” the commission said. The commission is particularly impressed by Oracle’s extension for up to five years of the terms and conditions of existing commercial licenses.
■INTERNET
Google sued by Netlist
Google Inc, the owner of the most-used search engine, was sued by computer-memory systems maker Netlist Inc over a patented invention designed to increase the speed of memory modules. Google’s computer servers infringe a patent for a memory module that increases capacity and improves energy efficiency, Netlist said in a complaint filed on Dec. 4 in federal court in San Francisco. Netlist is seeking cash compensation and a court order that would prevent further use of its invention.
■ECONOMY
Mexico downgraded to BBB
Ratings agency Standard & Poor’s downgraded Mexico’s sovereign debt to BBB status on Monday on concerns about the country’s fiscal outlook sparked by the global economic crisis. The downgrade for the Latin American and emerging-market powerhouse from BBB+ comes as the country continues to wrestle with the fallout from the international credit crisis. The downgrade spells more expensive borrowing for the country as it tries to kick-start the economy. Although still investment grade, S&P said the downgrade reflected concerns that Mexico’s tax base will be slashed and on slumping petrol revenues, that make up about 35 percent of the national budget.
■ARGENTINA
Kirchner tackles debt
Argentina announced on Monday it had set aside US$6.5 billion to guarantee the payment of its public debt for next year, as the country sought to end its isolation from global credit markets. The message, broadcast nationally by Argentine President Cristina Kirchner, sought to reassure international investors, who are still skittish after the country’s massive 2001 sovereign debt default. The Bicentennial Fund for Debt Repayment and Stabilization, backed by 14 percent of the central bank’s US$47 billion in foreign currency reserves, “gives international markets security that the debt is covered,” Kirchner said.
■PHILIPPINES
Joblessness rises to 7.1%
Unemployment in the Philippines rose to 7.1 percent in October, up from the 6.8 percent posted for the month last year, the government’s National Statistics Office said yesterday. However, this rate was down from the 7.6 percent posted in July, the last unemployment figure released by the statistics office. Underemployment, defined as those working fewer than 40 hours a week, rose to 19.4 percent in October, down slightly from the rate posted in July. However, this was sharply up from the 17.5 percent posted in October last year.
Taiwan’s Lee Chia-hao (李佳豪) on Sunday won a silver medal at the All England Open Badminton Championships in Birmingham, England, a career best. Lee, 25, took silver in the final of the men’s singles against world No. 1 Shi Yuqi (石宇奇) of China, who won 21-17, 21-19 in a tough match that lasted 51 minutes. After the match, the Taiwanese player, who ranks No. 22 in the world, said it felt unreal to be challenging an opponent of Shi’s caliber. “I had to be in peak form, and constantly switch my rhythm and tactics in order to score points effectively,” he said. Lee got
EMBRACING TAIWAN: US lawmakers have introduced an act aiming to replace the use of ‘Chinese Taipei’ with ‘Taiwan’ across all Washington’s federal agencies A group of US House of Representatives lawmakers has introduced legislation to replace the term “Chinese Taipei” with “Taiwan” across all federal agencies. US Representative Byron Donalds announced the introduction of the “America supports Taiwan act,” which would mandate federal agencies adopt “Taiwan” in place of “Chinese Taipei,” a news release on his page on the US House of Representatives’ Web site said. US representatives Mike Collins, Barry Moore and Tom Tiffany are cosponsors of the legislation, US political newspaper The Hill reported yesterday. “The legislation is a push to normalize the position of Taiwan as an autonomous country, although the official US
CHANGE OF TONE: G7 foreign ministers dropped past reassurances that there is no change in the position of the G7 members on Taiwan, including ‘one China’ policies G7 foreign ministers on Friday took a tough stance on China, stepping up their language on Taiwan and omitting some conciliatory references from past statements, including to “one China” policies. A statement by ministers meeting in Canada mirrored last month’s Japan-US statement in condemning “coercion” toward Taiwan. Compared with a G7 foreign ministers’ statement in November last year, the statement added members’ concerns over China’s nuclear buildup, although it omitted references to their concerns about Beijing’s human rights abuses in Xinjiang, Tibet and Hong Kong. Also missing were references stressing the desire for “constructive and stable relations with China” and
Foreign ministers of leading Western democracies sought to show a united front in Canada yesterday after seven weeks of rising tensions between US allies and US President Donald Trump over his upending of foreign policy on Ukraine and imposing of tariffs. The G7 ministers from the UK, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the US, along with the EU, convened in the remote tourist town of La Malbaie, nestled in the Quebec hills, for two days of meetings that in the past have broadly been consensual on the issues they face. Top of the agenda for Washington’s partners would be getting a
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