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■ Environment
Google gives staff free bikes
Google is improving its green credentials by offering all of its employees a free bike to ride to work. The bikes, manufactured by Raleigh Europe, will be offered to around 2,000 permanent employees of the search engine giant in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. All of the bikes -- plus free helmets -- will be branded with the Google name. "We try to innovate not just in technology for users but in the benefits we give our employees," Liane Hornsey, director of human resources and staffing for Google Europe, Middle East and Africa, told reporters.

■ Tires
Goodyear sells unit
Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co, North America's biggest tiremaker, has sold a unit that makes hoses and conveyor belts to buyout firm Carlyle Group for US$1.47 billion to focus on its tire business. Proceeds from shedding the Engineered Products Division will go to reduce debt and pay for expansion, among other purposes, Akron, Ohio-based Goodyear said on Friday in a statement. Carlyle will run the unit under the name EPD Inc and must use the Goodyear-brand trademark on certain products. EDP's headquarters will remain in Akron and current management, including CEO Timothy Toppen, will stay in place.

■ Automobiles
Hyundai affiliates probed
Three affiliates of Hyundai Motor Co, South Korea's biggest automaker, are being investigated by the country's tax authority after the conviction of chairman Chung Mong Koo, a company spokesman said. National Tax Service officials visited on Friday offices of car-shipping unit Glovis Co, car audio-making unit Hyundai Autonet Co and construction subsidiary Emco Corp, demanding documents, Hyundai Motor spokesman Jake Jang said yesterday by phone. Chung, 69, was sentenced to three years in jail on Feb. 5 after he was found guilty of embezzling company funds and breach of fiduciary duty.

■ Stocks
Discover to go public
Morgan Stanley announced on Friday its long-expected plans to spin off its Discover operation, saying it would distribute shares in the fourth-largest debit and credit card network to the investment bank's shareholders. The move comes as rival Visa International plans to go public this year, following in the footsteps of Mastercard Inc's flotation earlier this year. Discover has 50 million cardholders, ranking it fourth after Visa, MasterCard and American Express. Discover earned US$1.5 billion last year on record revenue of US$4.3 billion, and receivables approached US$50 billion. Discover said it is seeking a New York Stock Exchange listing under the symbol "DFS."

■ Automakers
`Proton' won't disappear
The brand name of "Proton," Malaysia's ailing national carmaker, will not be wiped out amid negotiations on a possible merger with foreign partners, Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said. "We cannot decide to forget the name Proton and to allow it to disappear," state Bernama news agency quoted Abdullah as saying in an interview with CNBC television on Friday. Abdullah said a good foreign partner would help Proton develop in terms of models, engines and technology, Bernama reported. He said Proton is currently only in talks with Volkswagen, but if those negotiations failed, Proton could begin talks with General Motors, Bernama reported.

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