CHINA SEEKS TO TRIM OVERCAPACITY IN AUTO SECTOR.
The News Review:
- CHINA SEEKS TO TRIM OVERCAPACITY IN AUTO SECTOR.
- China to trim auto overcapacity, promote local brands – report
- The young apprentice: Japan’s secret weapon
- Will the chain be broken?
- Fig Leaf Software Joins Google Enterprise Professional Program.
- For digital music players, better sound is just around the corner
CHINA SEEKS TO TRIM OVERCAPACITY IN AUTO SECTOR.
Free with registration – AsiaPulse News – AccessMyLibrary.com – May 31, 2006
Sources from the National Development and Reform Commission said annual sales for all carmakers in China must reach four-fifths of their manufacturing capacity if they want to build plants in other cities. And all new vehicle companies will be required to produce Chinese brand vehicles, sources said. If existing carmakers intend to invest in products of different categories from.
China to trim auto overcapacity, promote local brands – report
Forbes – May 31, 2006
Officials from the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) told the newspaper all new vehicle companies will be required to produce Chinese branded vehicles, while existing automakers should include home-grown brands if they wish to invest in areas outside their current product line-up. Carmakers must also achieve annual sales of four-fifths of their manufacturing capacity to be eligible to build plants in cities outside their existing production bases, the newspaper added. The new measures would supplement a national auto industry policy launched last June which stated that total investment in any new vehicle project in China should amount to at least two bln yuan, with no less than 500 mln yuan spending on research and development, the newspaper said. According to NDRC statistics, China’s vehicle manufacturing capacity stands at eight mln units a year. Vehicle sales in China last year reached 5.
The young apprentice: Japan’s secret weapon
International Herald Tribune – May 31, 2006
" She then nurtures them within her $180 million company as they slowly develop a personal vision, as with Watanabe and Tao; or she supports fledgling designers in CDG's joint venture with the Corso Como store in Tokyo's Aoyama district – or in her menswear corner in the department store Isetan. But in spite of her belief in upcoming talent, Kawakubo is leery about the structure of Japan Fashion Week, claiming that "it makes no sense for them to organize all these shows if the designers have nowhere to sell" and that "what money they put into the Japanese fashion system is put in the wrong place. " Kawakubo blames the department- store obsession with imported luxury brands and says that they do not value home-grown designers – or make space for them. She would like to see the big stores, where even she has to fight for space, "take a risk" with an entire Japanese designer floor. "The few Japanese who are succeeding, such as Undercover, Number Nine, Tao or Sacai are strong, independent designers – but there is some other good talent out there if only they had better support and encouragement," says Kawakubo. "The money they pour into Fashion Week could be used so much more effectively if only they had a bigger vision, like bringing young designers to Europe and urging department stores and journalists to take more notice. " In spite of those tough words, last week's Japan Fashion Week runway shows were well-planned and smoothly operated.
Will the chain be broken?
San Francisco Chronicle – May 31, 2006
It saddens me to see how the foodservice landscape has changed over the last 20 years or so. Chains are a reflection of a society that really has almost lost its “soul. ” When I enter a home grown restaurant and am personally greeted by the owner and staff–it makes me feel welcome and as if those people have a stake in making my visit pleasurable and positive. You will never get that feeling at Olive Garden or PF Changs. You are just another table—just another check ($$$$$$$$). They don’t care if you come back.
Fig Leaf Software Joins Google Enterprise Professional Program.
Free with registration – PR Newswire – AccessMyLibrary.com – May 31, 2006
Fig Leaf Software Joins Google Enterprise Professional Program. | PR Newswire (May, 2006).
For digital music players, better sound is just around the corner
International Herald Tribune – May 31, 2006
"I think younger consumers aren't familiar at all with really high-quality audio, because for them a CD is the best thing they have ever heard. " But innovation is restless, suggested Mahesh Sundaram, the vice president for marketing for Audistry, an Australian audio company established early this year as a wholly owned subsidiary of Dolby Laboratories. Sundaram said technologies that had helped to put consumers' music at their fingertips also could be used to make that music sound a great deal better than what many have grown used to. And as audio improves, he said, listeners, even casual ones, will begin to notice the difference. "Their reference point is going to shift dramatically," he said. The goal, many audio experts say, is to improve sound quality both on portable devices and in the living room. The methods are taking different paths.