Archives: November 2007

Japan's top university looks to Yale

Posted by: Ian Rowley on November 30

It's been a long time in coming, but Japan's universities are belatedly waking up to the fact that they must do more to raise their international profile. This week, I...

Can Samsung Emulate Nokia?

Posted by: Ihlwan Moon on November 28

Could Samsung Electronics follow the footsteps of Nokia? The Korean company certainly hopes so at least in emerging markets, where the Finnish company is making handsome profits by selling cheap...

More on China's 3G Flop

Posted by: Bruce Einhorn on November 28

Looking for additional evidence that China’s attempt to compete with global powerhouses by creating its own 3G standard is a fiasco? Consider this: China Mobile, the giant cellular operator, is...

Hillary Borrows from Bill's China Playbook

Posted by: Bruce Einhorn on November 27

Back in 1992, Bill Clinton campaigned against the first President Bush by attacking his coddling of “the butchers of Beijing” in the aftermath of June 4th. Today, after countless Made-in-China...

On Barry Diller's China plans

Posted by: Bruce Einhorn on November 26

On Friday, Barry Diller announced that his company plans to make a big push into China. Diller says that his company, IAC/InterActive Corp., will be putting $100 million into the...

How I spent Shanghai Thanksgiving with Paris Hilton

Posted by: Frederik Balfour on November 25

Until now, I could safely say that Paris Hilton and I have never shared much in common. So it came as something of a surprise to me to be invited...

Beijing's Big Turkey

Posted by: Bruce Einhorn on November 22

Leave it to some bureaucrats in Beijing to screw up Thanksgiving. The Chinese government seems to have reversed its bizarre last-minute refusal to allow the aircraft carrier the USS Kitty...

Air Rage in India

Posted by: Bruce Einhorn on November 21

As millions of Americans embark on the travel nightmare that is the long Thanksgiving weekend, they can take comfort in knowing that people in India are just as fed up...

Michelin Puts Tokyo on the Foodie Map

Posted by: Kenji Hall on November 19

Think of it as a wake up call for foodies. The Michelin Guide's slated release of its new Tokyo guide this week (Nov. 22) marks a watershed for this city....

Presidential Election Underlines Korea’s Immature Politics

Posted by: Ihlwan Moon on November 19

Regional loyalty and corruption charges against rival candidates have long dominated South Korean elections, with policies on national issues playing minor roles in choosing the country’s leaders. Next month’s presidential...

India's Communists and the Nuclear Deal

Posted by: Manjeet Krpalani on November 16

The US-India civilian nuclear deal seems to be on again, thanks to a temporary reprieve from India’s Communist Party’s usual obstreperous stalling. The Communists are preoccupied with the events in...

Can Yahoo Deliver on Promise to Help Dissidents?

Posted by: Bruce Einhorn on November 15

After more than a year of awful PR, it must be a big relief to Jerry Yang to start winning some praise for how Yahoo handles its China problem. Yahoo...

Pity Japan's investors

Posted by: Ian Rowley on November 13

It’s hard not to feel some sympathy for Japanese investors. Earlier this year, they got blamed for stoking the yen carry trade by plowing into higher yielding overseas assets. Now,...

Indian schools fall off Top 200 list

Posted by: Bruce Einhorn on November 12

A new survey is out that is bound to add to the angst that some Indians feel about China. A British ranking of the world’s top 200 universities is now...

HK Disneyland Takes Another Hit

Posted by: Bruce Einhorn on November 09

Execs from Disney and the Hong Kong government are admitting the obvious: Hong Kong Disneyland, the joint venture they launched in 2005, isn’t exactly a smashing success. Yesterday Disney’s CFO...

Why Bernanke's Warning Hurts Panasonic

Posted by: Kenji Hall on November 09

Call it the Bernanke effect. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's warning that U.S. growth could "slow noticeably" hit Japanese stocks like a ton of bricks, sending them to a three-month...

Toyota's op earnings bigger than GM's market cap

Posted by: Ian Rowley on November 07

Yesterday's contrasting results announcements once again highlighted the huge earnings gulf between Toyota and GM. For the six months through September, Toyota's operating earnings rose 16.3% to $11.2 billion, while...

Samsung Faces Embarrassing Legal Challenge

Posted by: Ihlwan Moon on November 06

Samsung is no stranger to legal battles. In recent years, the South Korean conglomerate has been brought to courtrooms, accused of patent infringements or price fixing for its products such...

Time for Musharraf to Go

Posted by: Manjeet Krpalani on November 06

A reader from Lebanon wrote in to ask about Pakistan: What does Musharraf have to do with the US’s policies in Asia? Is he really a dictator? What will become...

Prius sales yet to catch fire in China

Posted by: Ian Rowley on November 05

Car sales, if not profit margins, in China are flying this year and Toyota, which is on track to smash an annual target of 430,000 units, is among the biggest...

Toyota tops 50% in Japan

Posted by: Ian Rowley on November 01

It's been a long time coming but auto sales in Japan have, at least temporarily, stopped falling. Auto sales, excluding mini vehicles, rose 2% to 269,221 in October, the first...