■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.
The navy has installed 13 Phalanx Block 1B close-in weapons systems on its warships, increasing their defensive firepower, a defense official said on Saturday. The systems cost the navy NT$10.16 billion (US$314.67 million), while eight additional Block 1A systems are being upgraded in the US and are expected to be delivered next year, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. The Phalanx system used by Taiwan to defend its warships and key radar installations is a radar-cued gun system capable of firing 4,500 rounds a minute at targets as far away as 1.5km, the official said. With their superior range of
RACE FOR CHIPS: The Dresden site would help Europe reduce its reliance on Asia for semiconductors, while Germany aims to produce one-fifth of the world’s chips by 2030 Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday broke ground in Dresden, Germany, on its first European plant as the continent seeks to safeguard its chip supplies amid growing US-China tensions. TSMC chief executive C.C. Wei (魏哲家) attended the event, together with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, and the heads of Infineon Technologies AG, NXP Semiconductors NV and Robert Bosch GmbH, which each hold a 10 percent stake in the venture. TSMC owns a 70 percent stake in the plant. “Together with our partners, Bosch, Infineon and NXP, we are building our Dresden facility to meet the
RECOVERY: Overall, average income across all age groups increased, climbing to a record NT$709,000 last year, on the back of an improved economy, the DGBAS said Taiwanese workers under the age of 30 last year, on average, earned an annual income of NT$545,931 (US$17,044), a new high, as the economy continued to improve, data released by the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) showed. That equated to monthly earnings of NT$45,494 per person, and marked an increase from NT$535,667 in 2022, the data showed. In addition to an improved economy, average incomes rose as the unemployment rate declined and the minimum wage rose, the statistics agency said. Overall, average income in Taiwan also hit a new record of NT$709,000 last year, up from NT$704,000 in 2022, the data
CARROT AND STICK: Palauan president said in 2020 the Chinese ambassador to a neighboring country pledged to flood his country with tourists if it switches alliance Beijing weaponized tourism to the Pacific archipelago of Palau over its allegiance to Taiwan and its accusations that China was behind a major cyberattack there, Palauan President Surangel Whipps Jr told The Associated Press (AP). Palau, along with Tuvalu and the Marshall Islands, is one of the three Pacific nations to recognize Taiwan as an independent democracy. Taipei’s allies in the Pacific have dwindled from six countries in 2019. Nauru abandoned its ties in January. Whipps told the AP in an interview late on Thursday that, in 2020, while he was running for his current post, the Chinese ambassador to a neighboring country