Toshiba CEO steps down amid restructuring efforts
Toshiba CEO steps down amid restructuring effortsAP, TOKYOToshiba Corp chief executive officer Satoshi Tsunakawa is stepping down as the embattled Japanese technology giant seeks to restructure and restore its reputation. “I have been at Toshiba for only three years, but I love Toshiba,” he said. An extraordinary shareholders’ meeting is set for March 24, when the plan is to be put to a vote. Approval for yesterday’s personnel changes, including a resignation of another board member, and the nomination of two others, is to be sought in a shareholders’ meeting in June, Toshiba said. This might be Toshiba’s “last chance” to fix its reputation and brand power as a technology company and win back trust, he said.
Source:Taipei Times
March 02, 2022 02:37 UTC
China not coming to Russia’s aid, US official says
China not coming to Russia’s aid, US official saysReuters, WASHINGTON and BERLINChina so far does not appear to be helping Russia evade Western financial sanctions on Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine, but doing so would “do profound damage” to China’s reputation, a senior official from the administration of US President Joe Biden said on Saturday. “The latest signs suggest that China’s not coming to the rescue,” the official told reporters after announcing that the US and its allies agreed to impose sanctions against Russia’s central bank and disconnect key Russian banks from the SWIFT international financial transaction network. Reports that some Chinese banks have stopped issuing letters of credit for purchases of physical commodities from Russia were a positive sign, the official said. Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, and Chinese President Xi Jinping talk during their meeting in Beijing on Feb. 4. Photo: APThis “suggests that, much like has been the pattern for years and years, China has tended to respect the force of US sanctions,” the official added.
Source:Taipei Times
February 27, 2022 22:10 UTC
TSEC to invest NT$1.4bn after InvesTaiwan approval
The TSEC Corp logo is pictured during the annual PV Taiwan show at the Taipei Nangang Exhibition Center on Oct. 16, 2018. Rooftop solar panels at the new Mitsui Outlet Park in Tainan’s Gueiren District are pictured on Saturday. New Green Power acted as the engineering, procurement and construction company for the Tainan project, providing end-to-end solar energy services, including designing the solar systems, giving procurement details and installing the panels. The Tainan project includes PV panels installed on the main roof of the shopping mall, as well as in the mall’s parking lots, the company said. New Green Power first cooperated with the Japanese developer to built rooftop and parking lot PV panels in the Mitsui Outlet Park at the Port of Taichung, which opened in March 2019.
Source:Taipei Times
February 27, 2022 22:10 UTC
Facebook’s parent talks up plans to build ‘metaverse’
Facebook’s parent talks up plans to build ‘metaverse’AFP, SAN FRANCISCOMeta Platforms Inc chief executive officer Mark Zuckerberg on Wednesday talked up his company’s efforts to build the “metaverse,” an immersive virtual world he has billed as the Facebook parent’s future. A man poses for a photograph in front of a sign at Meta Platforms Inc’s headquarters in Menlo Park, California, on Feb. 2. Photo: AFPThe metaverse is a 3D virtual world where people would be able to interact using sensors, head gear and other gadgets. Meta’s early metaverse platform, Horizon Worlds, already allows people to socialize virtually while represented by avatars. Hit global video games such as Fortnite, Minecraft and Roblox, which run on traditional gaming platforms, are seen as precursors to the metaverse.
Source:Taipei Times
February 24, 2022 23:43 UTC
Unemployment falls to 3.61%, for 7th month of declines
Unemployment falls to 3.61%, for 7th month of declinesBy Crystal Hsu / Staff reporterThe unemployment rate last month fell to 3.61 percent, declining for the seventh consecutive month, as fewer people quit or lost their jobs to downsizing and closures ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday, the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) said yesterday. The latest data represented a downturn of 0.03 percentage points from a month earlier and a 0.05 percentage point retreat from a year earlier. The job market has recovered to the level prior to a nationwide level-3 COVID-19 alert in May last year, judging by the unemployment rate and the number of jobless people, Chen said. The jobless reading could rise 0.04 to 0.08 percentage points this month, Chen said. People aged 45 or older had the lowest unemployment rate of 2.17 percent, it said.
Source:Taipei Times
February 24, 2022 23:43 UTC
COVID-19: Japan order first from overseas for ITRI test kit
COVID-19: Japan order first from overseas for ITRI test kitStaff writer, with CNAThe developer of the iPMx molecular rapid COVID-19 test system has received the first overseas order for the new product, from Japan, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday. A person displays the iPMx molecular rapid COVID-19 test system at a news conference in Taipei yesterday. The iPMx system’s compact canister is 57 times lighter than traditional testing devices, weighing only 600g, ITRI said. Chiou said the system is like a “mobile laboratory” and is highly sought after in the Japanese testing market. ITRI is developing a second-generation iPMx system, which would also be able to detect flu, Chiou said.
Source:Taipei Times
February 24, 2022 03:04 UTC
Book review: Dispatches from a troubled region
Book review: Dispatches from a troubled regionThis thoroughly researched book examines the marine degradation in the South China Sea and the major players who can do something about itBy Bradley Winterton / Contributing reporterTaiwan is one of seven nations laying claims of one kind or another to islands in the South China Sea. MARINE DEGRADATIONDISPATCHES FROM THE SOUTH CHINA SEA, by James Borton. Almost 55 percent of the world’s fishing vessels, many of them small, operate in the South China Sea. “The world will not allow Beijing to treat the South China Sea as its maritime empire,” declared former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. Taiwan, Borton argues, is a highly responsible player in the South China Sea game.
Source:Taipei Times
February 24, 2022 03:04 UTC
Survey says 75% prefer single-use plastics ended
Survey says 75% prefer single-use plastics endedReuters, LONDONThree in four people worldwide want single-use plastics to be banned as soon as possible, a poll released yesterday showed as UN members prepare to begin talks on a global plastic pollution treaty. Environmentalists say that the results send a clear message to governments meeting in Nairobi next week to press ahead with a treaty to tackle plastic waste. A woman picks up plastic items along the Pasig River in Manila on June 10 last year. Whatever is agreed at the Nairobi conference from Monday to Wednesday next week would determine key elements of any deal. The biggest support for single-use plastic bans in the poll came from the likes of Colombia, Mexico and India, developing countries at the sharp end of a waste crisis.
Source:Taipei Times
February 23, 2022 02:31 UTC
A scooter helmet too nice to wear?
A scooter helmet too nice to wear? Local artists are designing scooter helmets that have become works of art in and of themselvesBy John Evans / Contributing ReporterWhen is a scooter helmet not really a helmet? Photo courtesy of Lee An of Dupin Custom Painting StudioEnter Lee An (安李) of Dupin Custom Painting Studio in Taichung. Skulls scream out from a helmet designed by Lee An of Dupin Custom Painting Studio. One of the most expensive helmets Lee painted — a snarling Harley Quinn from the movie Suicide Squad — went for NT$30,000.
Source:Taipei Times
February 23, 2022 02:31 UTC
Alcaraz becomes youngest man to lift ATP 500 title
Alcaraz becomes youngest man to lift ATP 500 titleReutersTwo years after winning his first ATP Tour match in Rio de Janeiro, 18-year-old Carlos Alcaraz of Spain on Sunday became the youngest player to clinch an ATP 500 title at the same event when he defeated Diego Schwartzman in the final of the Rio Open. It was a second ATP Tour title for Alcaraz after his victory in Umag, Croatia, last year and his 6-4, 6-2 victory against world No. 6 Matteo Berrettini and another Italian Fabio Fognini, a former top-10 player, and climbed to a career-best 20th in the ATP Tour rankings. Opelka blasted 25 aces past Norrie, but it was not enough for him to claim back-to-back titles after taking his third ATP Tour title the previous weekend at the Dallas Open. 13 Norrie, a semi-final loser last year, improved to 3-5 in career ATP Tour finals.
Source:Taipei Times
February 22, 2022 03:59 UTC
Agency to ask firm to fix ‘flaw’ in new train doors
Agency to ask firm to fix ‘flaw’ in new train doorsBy Shelley Shan / Staff reporterThe Taiwan Railways Administration plans to ask Hyundai Rotem to address a “craftsmanship flaw” in doors of EMU900 commuter trains, after they opened on their own several times over the past year, the agency said yesterday. Sixteen EMU900 trains have been delivered, of which 15 have been in operation since April last year. The agency is still testing one EMU900 train. On Sunday, three doors of an EMU900, train No. On Jan. 1, doors on another EMU900 train were unable to open normally.
Source:Taipei Times
February 22, 2022 03:58 UTC
Wall Street retreats on Ukraine jitters
“This is a confused market, confused about Ukraine, confused about how aggressive the Fed is going to be, and pretty much ignoring very strong earnings results from the fourth quarter,” said Tim Ghriskey, senior portfolio strategist at Ingalls & Snyder in New York. The indices logged weekly declines for the second straight week, buffeted by rising tensions between Moscow and the West over Ukraine. For the week, the S&P 500 fell 1.6 percent, the Dow lost 1.9 percent and the NASDAQ declined 1.8 percent. About 78 percent of the 417 S&P 500 companies have in this reporting season posted quarterly earnings above analyst estimates as per Refinitiv data. The S&P 500 posted eight new 52-week highs and 28 new lows; the NASDAQ Composite recorded 19 new highs and 395 new lows.
Source:Taipei Times
February 20, 2022 02:35 UTC
European stocks retreat on Russia-Ukraine woes
European stocks retreat on Russia-Ukraine woesReutersEuropean shares ended lower on Friday and dropped nearly 2 percent this week with travel and banking shares leading the declines over caution around rising tensions between Russia and Ukraine ahead of the weekend. The pan-European STOXX 600 fell 0.8 percent and dropped 1.9 percent for the week with travel and banking shares the top weekly losers. “There is a higher probability either of a diplomatic solution or some kind of an incursion, but fairly contained,” PineBridge Investments multiasset manager Hani Redha said. Banking shares have come under pressure this week as rising conflict fears pushed investors toward safer assets, driving short-term European yields lower, which have fallen 12 basis points this week. Finnish drug manufacturer Orion Corp jumped 22.2 percent to the top of STOXX 600 following positive trial results for its prostate cancer treatment.
Source:Taipei Times
February 20, 2022 02:35 UTC
Intel sees sales picking up in coming years
Intel sees sales picking up in coming yearsBloombergIntel Corp expects revenue to rise by just under 2 percent this year, with growth picking up in later years as CEO Pat Gelsinger pursues a turnaround of the once-dominant chipmaker. Intel Corp CEO Pat Gelsinger holds a wafer as he speaks onstage at the company’s investor meeting in San Francisco on Thursday. While the chip industry’s sales gained 26 percent last year to a record US$556 billion, Intel posted a 4 percent decline. The biggest chunk of Intel’s sales still comes from the personal-computer market, where its processors remain the most important component of the majority of laptops and desktops. Meanwhile, its outsourced chip business is still in the early stages — “just beginning,” Gelsinger said.
Source:Taipei Times
February 18, 2022 23:29 UTC
EDITORIAL: Taiwan’s sovereignty on KMT’s radar
EDITORIAL: Taiwan’s sovereignty on KMT’s radarChinese state media on Saturday last week labeled two Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators as “secret Taiwanese independence advocates.”The report in the People’s Political Consultative Daily said that KMT legislators Lin Wei-chou (林為洲) and Charles Chen (陳以信) colluded with external antagonists to act against China’s interests. As China now appears to be equating ROC sovereignty claims by the KMT with ambitions for Taiwan’s formal independence, the KMT has lost its trump card, which relied on keeping details of “one China” ambiguous. According to sources, Chinese academics are saying that under unification, Taiwan could retain powers of governance, but should be an entity without sovereignty, similar to Hong Kong and Macau. It might also feel that allowing ambiguity on ROC sovereignty has made unclear its goal of unification by applying its “one country, two systems” formula to Taiwan. Neither the “1992 consensus” nor “one country, two systems” has any place in Taiwan’s future, and the KMT and China must accept that.
Source:Taipei Times
February 18, 2022 22:06 UTC