Oct. 23, 2006 (CENS)--Taiwan’s financial market has recently ushered in a new international currency hedge instrument called DBV ETF, and quite a few banks are actively promoting the new product to enrich their private-banking service pool. DBV is the contraction of “Deutsche Bank Currency Index Value Fund,” which purchases treasury securities and use them to purchase futures, with 2x leverage, on the three G-10 currencies with the highest interest rates. Besides, DBV involves several concepts including foreign exchange trading, using futures to speculate on forex, leveraging risky investments, and long/short strategies.
ETF is the abbreviation of “electronically traded fund,” which allows institutional investors to deposit money with ETF that would simply buy whatever currency was traded and place the deposit into a bank.
The G-10 currencies include the U.S. dollar, euro, Japanese yen, Canadian dollar, Swiss franc, British pound, Australian dollar, New Zealand dollar, Norwegian krone, and Swedish krona. The DBV ETF is operated based on the U.S. dollar and Deutsche Bank Currency Index Value Fund is entrusted to compile the index monitoring the instrument. It is believed that the difference of interest rates offered by banks for the above-mentioned currencies is the major income of DBV ETF.
In the past decade, the average profit return rate of DBV ETF is around 10%, yet with relatively low management cost, thus inspiring a buying spree among banks with private banking services. ((JL))
Best-15 G-Mark Designs Stretch Human Creativity to the Limit
By QUINCY LIANG
The Japan Industrial Design Promotion Organization (JIDPO) recently announced 1,034 items, including the “Best 15,” that are accredited by the 50th Good Design Award or “G-Mark,” one of the world’s most-important industrial design selection systems.
The “Good Design Award 2006" received 2,918 items for categories in “Product Design,” “Architecture and Environment Design,” “Communication Design,” and “Avant-Garde Design” from April 26 to June 7, 2006. World-famous designers such as Toshiyuki Kita, Manabu Akaike, and Kiyoyuki Okuyama as well as 70 council members judged the 2,918 submissions, of which 1,034 were given the G-Mark accreditation.
Of the accredited 1,034 G-mark items, 15 are given the Good Design Awards, from which the winners for a series of prizes have been chosen, including the “Universal Design,” “Interaction Design,” and “Ecology Design,” “Good Design Gold Prize,” and the “Grand Prize 2006.” The list of award winners will be publicized on October 25 at the “Good Design Prize Ceremony”.
Some data provided by the JIDPO show the design fair’s vitality and popularity: total screened items: 2,918; total number of awarded items: 1,034 from 574 companies; including 854 product designs from 426 companies; 10 architecture and environment designs from 94 companies; 30 communication designs from 21companies; 49 avant-garde designs from 48 companies; and special prizes given for good designs.
The Best 15 Good Design Award Winners The following is an overview of the Best 15 G-Mark winners, with only one to be chosen as the Grand Prize winner.
Electric Scooter The Monpal ML200 Electric Scooter features a “smart package” concept that keeps its width similar to that of a bicycle. Using Honda’s proprietary technology, this electric scooter focuses on safety and ride comfort, as well as style. Most scooters have lights halfway up the body, making it difficult for car drivers and pedestrians to judge how far away they are; the Monpal ML200 incorporates lights high and low to enhance visibility. Company: Honda Motor Co., Ltd.
Rechargeable Ni-Mh Batteries The newly-developed rechargeable Ni-Mh batteries or “eneloop” is the inaugural product of Sanyo’s new vision--"Think GAIA.” Building on the “Think GAIA” concept of “Energy: Creating a clean-energy society,” the eneloop is designed to be a “non-disposable” battery having “No ecological impact.” This new battery enhances a new lifestyle without the hassle of battery disposal. Its designers have created extremely simple, clutter-free graphic designs for the battery and outer case, unique among today’s rechargeable and dry cell batteries. The low self-discharge quality means this rechargeable battery is sold charged and ready for immediate use. The energy residual rate of the eneloop is about 85% if left unused for one year, a world first. Rechargeable over 1,000 times and recyclable at the end of its life, the eneloop makes a minimal dent on the ecology. Even the outer case functions as storage, so the design of the eneloop truly adheres to the concept of a “non-disposable” battery. Only recycled PET is used for the battery tube and outer case, so waste is reduced by 87%, far better than the existing products from the supplier. Company: Sanyo Electric Co. Ltd.
Digital Camcorder The SC-X210L is a digital convergence-memory camcorder that features all the standard functions of a camcorder, but has a separate camera for filming outdoor activities. Company: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd
Microscopic Camera By attaching a Nikon COOLPIX digital camera to the special optical path of this stereoscopic microscope, the user can not only view objects in 3D and magnified 20 times, but also record digital images. Company: Nikon Corp. + Nikon Vision Co., Ltd.
Linear Portable Microphone The PCM-D1 is a portable professional-grade microphone capable of high quality audio recording with excellent background noise reduction. Recording in the PCM digital-audio format for audio quality superior to that of CDs, the PCM-D1 uses the most advanced digital technology, a liquid crystal display and easy-to-use recording level meters. With a casing of strong but lightweight titanium, this microphone is designed as a top-end item. Company: Sony Corp.
Music On-tap Pioneer’s Music Tap literally allows music to be played via any household power outlet! Just as water pours out when you turn on the tap, connecting the Music Tap to an outlet anywhere in the home sends a cascade of musical signals over the power cables. Simply plug in speakers anywhere in your home to hear music from the power outlet. Company: Pioneer Corp.
e-Age Radish Grater The OXO Good Grips is a Japanese-designed radish grater with creativity supplied by both scientists and computers. Configured to be user-friendly, the gently sloping broad base of the grater is comfortably held on a table for use. Featuring rubber-coated sides, the grater allows slip-free usage; while the scientifically-calculated blade position provides hitherto unknown levels of grating efficiency. With blades of acetal, the Good Grips is extremely durable; plus the grater conveniently stores upright with its own lid. Company: OXO International
Mini-Car The “i” as a name for a mini-car is as innovative as its design features. This mini-vehicle is a premium small car that uses a newly-developed platform with an original rear-midship layout. The designers have minimized the tradeoffs traditionally associated with minicars in terms of design, comfortable interior space and impact safety. Featuring remarkable design innovations in a tiny space, the “i” offers futuristic and uptown styling; agile handling and a comfortable ride; as well as commendable multidirectional impact safety. Company: Mitsubishi Motors Corp.
High-Speed Train The Taiwan High Speed Rail 700T Train has been developed based on the 700-series Shinkansen rolling stock. Jointly built by the Central Japan Railway Co. and West Japan Railway Co., the 700T has been designed specially for Taiwan rail travel, including criteria such as passenger, geography, climate, regulation, safety and future development. Featuring a meal car and trolley service, the 700T also has vending machines and public telephones, as well as offering in each car generous luggage storage, spacious access for wheelchair users and handicapped passengers. Company: Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd., Nippon Sharyo Ltd., and Hitachi Ltd.
Off-the-shelf Custom-designed Homes Designer homes are usually custom-built by architects. But Tokyo House is a system that offers architect-designed homes without the hassle of starting from scratch. The designers’ package enables customers to purchase a house pre-designed by architects in the same way a piece of furniture or a car is bought. To make custom-designed homes a convenient option, the company focused on an extensive range of site-related variables for land in the Tokyo area, coming up with optimal pre-designed homes by architects. Tokyo House may be the most cost-efficient way to buy a custom-built home in one of the most expensive cities in the world. Company: Commdesign Inc.
Light Rail Transit In light of population decline and graying society, streetcars are once again in the spotlight as a means to combat global environmental problems. The Toyama Light Rail Toyamako Line is the first full-fledged Light Rail Transit (LRT) system in Japan. To realize the objectives of availing the benefits of LRT to everyone in Japan and creating a network comparable in quality to those in other countries, “total design” was employed, whereby the design of all kinds of objects related to the construction and operation of the system had been carefully controlled. Company: GK Sekkei Inc.
Urban Design in Yokohama Aiming to create attractive urban spaces that are unique to Yokohama, the city planners adhere to the following criteria to coordinate urban developments and design public facilities. (1) Maintain a safe and comfortable environment for pedestrians. (2) Utilize the local land features and vegetation. (3) Utilize historical and cultural resources. (4) Increase the amount of open space and greenery. (5) Respect the sea, rivers and other waterfront environments. (6) Create places for people to interact and communicate. (7) Constantly seek morphological and visual beauty. Design: City of Yokohama
Ecological Cafe Otemachi Cafe sets practical examples on its premises to build community spirit and promote sustainable urban development through efforts to minimize ecological impact in the redevelopment of the Otemachi, Marunouchi and Yurakucho areas of Tokyo. The cafe has subcritical water plants on display in the garden to process food scraps into biogases and lactic acid. Its counters are recycled marble salvaged from the old Shin-Marunouchi Building. And environmentally-friendly materials, such as traditional plaster, were employed in its construction to lessen environmental impact. Company: Mitsubishi Estate Co., Ltd.
Hybrid Robot Suit The HAL-5 is a unique robot suit with human-assist functions, the capabilities and developments of which have been showcased at Expo 2005 in Aichi Japan. Medically, it has all the basic functions of a hybrid assistive limb; but it is mechanically flexible. Its simple and unified design allows the user to feel at ease. Furthermore, HAL-5 also features an amusing element-it is designed so that people can enjoy observing the interactions of man and machine. Company: Elm Design Co., Ltd. + Cyberdyne Inc.
Willcom’s ‘SIM-STYLE’ The SIM-STYLE utilizes W-SIM, a small, lightweight Personal Handyphone System (PHS) transmission module with an internal antenna, that can be plugged into telephones, data terminals, PDAs and similar devices. The open-ended product specifications make it easy for companies without communications expertise to develop handsets. The SIM-STYLE makes it feasible to develop products with new added-value in a short time and at low cost, through collaboration between communications and other industries. Company: Willcom lnc.
(October 2006)