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Taipei, March 6 (CNA) Taiwan’s biggest carrier China Airlines Ltd. and several local hospitals will sign a memorandum of understanding Wednesday in an effort to promote health care travel in Taiwan, according to Taiwan’s trade promotion body.In order to take advantage of the growing Free Independent Traveler (FIT) program between Taiwan and China, the Taiwan External Trade Development Council decided to link in medical tourism and promote high-end medical tour packages.

There will be only three hospitals involved in the first stage, including the Taipei-based Shin Kong Medical Club, the Chang Bing Show Chwan Memorial Hospital in central Taiwan and Kaohsiung-based E-Da Hospital.Meanwhile, China Airlines, which provides over 100 round-trip flights a week between 26 cities in China and three cities in Taiwan, is the top carrier choice, the council said.The strategic alliance between different business sectors will be “a breakthrough to promote Taiwan’s international medical care,” it added.

The FIT program, which kicked off last June, now allows up to 1,000 people from 11 cities to visit Taiwan per day without having to be part of a tour group.According to statistics compiled by the National Immigration Agency, a total of 30,281 Chinese visitors came to Taiwan through the FIT program from June to December last year.”As our ancestors say, an atlas is the key to a country, which cannot be shown to others,” Liu said, calling for the public, especially those working in foreign-related companies and organizations, to realize the significance of surveying and mapping work.From 2005 to 2011, a total of 10 cases of foreign-related illegal surveying activities were investigated in Xinjiang.In September 2005, two Japanese scholars illegally used GPS equipment to survey and map the coordinates of an airport and water facilities in Hotan in Xinjiang.

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The Vermont Economic Development Authority recently approved $11 million in financing for business projects around the state.Appalachian Engineered Flooring Inc., North Troy — Financing of $1.2 million to help a Quebec company create a 26,000-square-foot production facility in North Troy. Appalachian Flooring of Cowansville, Quebec manufactures and sells pre-finished and finished solid hardwood flooring to retailers and distributors across North America.The company also sells finished engineered hardwood flooring that will be made at the North Troy facility. The company estimates that up to 40 jobs will be created within three years of the project.

Northeast Kingdom Human Services Inc., Derby — VEDA gave initial approval for the issuance of up to $3.9 million in tax-exempt bonds to help finance consolidation of operations among several leased Northeast Kingdom Human Services facilities in the Newport/Derby area.Pending final approval, the $6.55 million project would enable Northeast Kingdom Human Services to purchase approximately five acres of land in Derby, and build and equip a 30,200-square-foot building.Northeast Kingdom Human Services has 350 full-time employees.Franklin County Industrial Development Corp. for Peerless Clothing International Inc., St. Albans — The project was approved for $4 million in financing as part of an $11.5 million expansion of FCIDC’s facilities that are leased to Peerless Clothing International in the St. Albans Industrial Park.

The project will replace one of Peerless Clothing’s current buildings with a much larger, efficient facility.The building will allow Peerless to design and construct four floors of racking systems to accommodate a new product line. Once completed, the project will bring the company’s total space in the park to 281,200 square feet. St. Albans serves as the clothing manufacturer’s U.S. sales and distribution center. Peerless is the largest manufacturer of men’s clothing in North America, and the largest supplier of Canadian-made and imported men’s tailored clothing to most major department and specialty retail stores in the U.S.

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Li Yundi winds down after his daily three hours’ practice. The classical pianist is garbed in a white slim-fit suit top, tight black trousers and a pair of black suede shoes. On a tea table lie his Emporio Armani sunglasses.In an interview lasting almost an hour on the top floor of the EMI Music building in London’s posh West End, Li’s answers are delivered allegrissimo, or very quickly, the lyrics being predominantly Chinese, but with snatches of English along the way.But back to the looks. Li says he is not attached to any particular “famous brand”, but adds that he is a kind of representative for the Italian men’s fashion line Ermenegildo Zegna.

“They design my suits and tailcoats that I wear at performances. I think the brand fits my style well.”Just when you start to think Li’s kit couldn’t be any more Western, a bracelet that is green and watermelon red jumps out. This Chinese symbol of good luck is on his right forearm.Li soon makes it clear that he thinks there is more to Chinese culture than good luck charms.”Chinese culture is as great as others. We have many great books and poems … but there is only one concerto composed by the Chinese. There should be more,” he says, referring to the Yellow River Piano Concerto, based on a patriotic cantata composed by Xian Xinghai in 1939.Ten years after becoming famous by playing the music of Western composers, Li is doing a bit of role reversal, playing Chinese music to Western audiences.

“They listen to Beethoven, Chopin and Bach every day, and they might get excited with something different,” Li says.He is in Europe to promote Red Piano, his latest album and his first collection of Chinese music, and he expects his fans in Europe to get to know more about China through his performance.The album includes In That Place Wholly Faraway, a folk song from the western province of Qinghai that he has played at his solo concerts as encores, and The Yellow River Piano Concerto.Li says he chose all of the tracks, and it took him about a week to finish the recording in the National Center for the Performing Arts, next to the Forbidden City in Beijing.Apart from London, he will perform in 10 other European cities, including Turin, Paris, Munich, and Leipzig during the three-week tour.

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Armstrong, which also makes building materials and resilient flooring, among other items, reported increased sales in Asia, flat sales in the Americas, and a drop in sales in Europe. Overall sales were $2.86 billion for the year ended December 31, 2011, up about 3 percent over 2010. But net income soared, to $112.4 million, up from $10 million as Armstrong took charges on closing plants and other write-downs.

Wood flooring sales rose 3.4 percent to $111.5 million. In 2010 armstrong recorded a $32 million loss in its wood flooring segment, a result of $5 million of fixed asset write downs and severance charges related to the closure of two manufacturing facilities, and $22 million of impairment charges for wood flooring trademarks.No one was able to figure out why the tiles weren’t working, and they were replaced with vinyl tiles at a cost of $279,961. The Sacramento County Board of Supervisors is set to approve the additional cost at its meeting Tuesday. The item is on the consent agenda, which is used for items unlikely to bring about much discussion.

The contractors who performed a massive renovation and expansion at Sacramento County Juvenile Hall over the past few years ran into a $280,000 problem, according to a county report.PVC resilient tile flooring that was installed at the Kiefer Boulevard facility “began to deteriorate shortly after it was installed,” according to a county staff report. “This deterioration included delaminating of the tile surface layer, failure of the tile to adhere to the concrete slab floor and ‘cupping’ and ‘buckling’ of the tiles resulting in potential trip hazards.”The change in cost pales in comparison to the total cost of the project, which started at $34 million. The cost also joins previous increases that amounted to $4.6 million, which bring the total cost of the project to $39 million–almost 15 percent more than was originally planned, according to the staff report.

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The spotlight shines on Europe in the coming week as the ECB feeds banks a second huge helping of three-year funds and the region’s leaders meet to strengthen the financial firewalls needed to contain the debt crisis.Manufacturing data from the giant U.S. and Chinese economies will be scrutinised for any signs of flagging growth, while rising oil prices and the battle to implement Greece’s second bailout deal will colour the market backdrop.Riskier assets have enjoyed nearly two months of gains, driven by renewed bouts of monetary easing from the world’s major central banks and hopes of economic recovery.

Global equities are up over 20 percent from October lows , while 10-year Italian bonds have returned 15 percent to dollar-based investors this year.But the sentiment behind the rally is seen as increasingly fragile.”There’s this fear of missing out that has prompted a lot of investors to buy, but the minute anything looks remotely negative they’ll get out,” said Jeff Sica, President and Chief Investment Officer of SICA Wealth Management.In the coming week, risk assets should get some support from the European Central Bank’s second long-term funding operation on Wednesday, when European banks are expected to borrow up to half a trillion euros ($666 billion) of cheap cash.

Euro area money supply data for January on Monday , should offer an indication of how successful the ECB’s first three-year tender in December was in easing the credit freeze.It was widely credited with reversing a slide in Europe’s financial markets, easing pressures on the banking system and bringing down borrowing costs for struggling euro zone states like Italy and Spain.The second three-year offering may well be the last, especially if its effects endure.”Unless the euro crisis deteriorates significantly further, another large LTRO after this seems unlikely,” said Deutsche Bank’s chief economist Thomas Mayer.

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Joelle Lattimer, PE, a specialist in the design and use of concrete floors, is joining Ameripolish, Inc. as Vice President, Global Account Development, it was announced today by Ameripolish President Les Davis. Lattimer, who has consulted on floor system design for some of North America’s biggest retailers, will begin at Ameripolish in March 2012. Ameripolish is the leading manufacturer of products for coloring, polishing, and maintaining concrete floors.”We are lucky to be joined by a talent like Joelle Lattimer,” stated Davis. “She is an expert on concrete floors who knows how to design them for maximum performance and beauty.

We believe Joelle will best represent the benefits and architectural potential of exposed concrete floors to design professionals, building owners such as national retailers, and other decision-makers in the field.”Lattimer has been actively involved in the design of concrete flooring systems, most recently as an engineer with Structural Services Incorporated. She has specialized in design with vast capacities, with clientele that has included some of North America’s largest big-box retailers. Her expertise in concrete floors includes sustainable flooring initiatives, concrete flooring specifications, site assessments, concrete chemical and tooling products evaluation, and developing efficient processes for polishing concrete.

Lattimer was previously Structural Coordinator and Team Leader at BBR Architecture, and Project Engineer at Johnston Burkholder Associates. She holds a degree in Civil Engineering, Structure, from Michigan Technological University, and is a member of American Concrete Institute (ACI), the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), and the Society of Women Engineers (SWE).”Joelle’s specialty is making concrete flooring work,” commented Davis. “It coincides perfectly with the mission of Ameripolish. I cannot imagine a better person to reach out to designers and owners and help them achieve the beautiful, durable floors that can be made with concrete.”

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Activists from China’s Muslim Uighur minority burnt Chinese flags in Ankara on Tuesday where China’s leader-in-waiting Xi Jinping was holding talks with Turkish officials on regional issues.About 60 Turkic-speaking Uighurs from China’s northwestern Xinjiang province protested outside the hotel where Xi was staying in the Turkish capital on the last leg of a trip that also took him to the United States and Ireland.Xi, almost sure to succeed Hu Jintao as president in just over a year, praised Turkey’s role in trying to resolve issues such as the Iranian nuclear dispute and Middle East conflicts.

Waving the flag of East Turkestan, pale blue with a white star and crescent, the protesters burnt a Chinese flag and a poster of Xi before police moved in to disperse them.Rights groups accuse China of abuses during a crackdown after Uighur riots in 2009 and Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan then described the events as a “genocide”.Turkey is home to thousands of Uighurs who have fled Xinjiang since the Chinese Communists took over the region in 1949.Xi said China had made great strides to raise the living standards of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang.

Turkey and China are at either end of a political and economic axis stretching along the old silk road though Central Asia, Iran and Afghanistan. Both have strong, sometimes competing economic interests in the region.Turkey, now the world’s 16th biggest economy and only second to China in growth last year, has projected itself as a stable Muslim democracy, making it a key player at a time of turmoil and unrest in the Middle East.”A member of the G20 with a growing economy and an important country in the Middle East, Turkey has for a long time tried to bring stability and development to the region and played an active role in trying to solve ‘hot’ issues,” Xi told Turkey’s Sabah newspaper listing Afghanistan, the Iranian nuclear and Middle East peace efforts.

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Marketing Director Kathryn Grant gets more than a paycheck from IVC-US of Dalton. Its product is all over her kitchen and home office.”Right now, looking at it, it just looks like a piece of flooring,” she says.Durable padded vinyl.Dyed and textured to simulate ceramic tile or grained wood.But pounds lighter. And hundreds, even thousands of dollars cheaper.Seamless, at first sight. But stuck to, or easily removed from, your sub-floor.”It’s a project you can do yourself, if you’re up for a DIY challenge that really, isn’t a challenge.”And in a housing market in which almost half the sales of flooring products are to remodelers, it’s no surprise that Belgian-based IVC is adding a third shift at Dalton, even though its first American factory has been open barely more than a year.

“This actually, is our second expansion,” says Andrew Kearton, IVC-US Vice President for Manufacturing.The thirty workers will join more than 100 production personnel, who had been working 12-hour shifts and 3-day weeks. The added shift will put workers on 8-hour days and 5-day weeks.It also means IVC begins its second year, where many expected it to be at the end of the third.”Dalton has a very good pool of talent here in terms of workers in a similar type of industry, Kearton says.A free-flowing and deep pool, thanks to the Great Recession and the near-collapse of the homebuilding industry. Kearton has pored over hundreds of applications, to fill his dozens of opening.

“We have very specific concepts and processes, he says. “Experience in those would be worthwhile having. Dye-making is very important, so color-knowledge is good, as is understanding how all the processes work together.”IVC began third-shift hiring in December. Job postings on its web site, ivcgroup.com, include openings for an Electrical Engineer, a Process Engineer, Ink Maker, Quality Inspector, Claims Specialist, Credit Specialist, and a Technical Development Manager.IVC won’t show us the factory itself or allow interviews with workers; citing proprietary technology and trade secrets. But the need of for those symbolizes a level of competition that offers lessons and direction as to how Dalton’s flooring industry can put itself on more solid ground.

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Yani Tseng watched Ai Miyazato’s approach on the 18th hole of the LPGA Thailand and knew she had to come up with an equally impressive shot to avoid a possible playoff.Tseng met the challenge with a shot fitting her No. 1 ranking, controlling the spin perfectly to set up a tap-in putt.”It was an incredible shot. I think it’s the shot of the week,” Tseng said Sunday. “Especially, I saw that Ai hit it so close and I knew she was going to make that putt. So, I tell myself, ‘I need to get this close.’ “The 23-year-old Taiwanese star successfully defended her title for her 13th LPGA Tour victory, matching Miyazato with birdies on the final two holes to hold off her Japanese friend by a stroke.

Tseng closed with 6-under -par 66 to finish at 19-under 269 on the Pattaya Old Course at Siam Country Club. She opened with a 73, then shot consecutive 65s to enter the final round a shot behind Miyazato.CHAMPIONS TOUR: In Naples, Fla., Kenny Perry had such a big lead in the ACE Group Classic that his goal was to finish at 20 under par in the 54-hole event.He did it on the number, shooting 2-under 70 to win by five shots.”I really wanted that putt,” said Perry, who made a bogey putt on the final hole and won his second Champions Tour title.

“I really wanted to shoot 20-under. I didn’t want to fall back to 19 like I did at Colonial one year. I had a seven-stroke lead coming in and I doubled and I went from 21 to 19. I said, ‘I ain’t doing that this week.’ So, I was able to get that putt in. Ecstatic. It’s a great win for me.”After opening with rounds of 64 and 62 to break the tour’s 36-hole record at 18-under 126,Perry beat 2011 winner Bernard Langer by five strokes at The TwinEagles Club’s Talon Course.Perry, a 14-time winner on the PGA Tour, birdied three of his first eight holes, and no one ever got closer than four shots after that.Langer eagled No. 17 for the third consecutive day in his 70.

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