■ AUTOMOBILES
Minister against Fiat aid
A right-wing Italian Cabinet minister said on Sunday there would be a popular revolt if carmaker Fiat was given help by the Italian government, warning the government before talks with the auto sector this week. “There would be a popular revolt if once again we were to give aid to Fiat,” said Roberto Calderoli, who has the task of whittling down bureaucracy and legislation in the government of Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. “We have already paid up to intervene in Fiat so many times and you can’t keep sharing the debt and keeping the profit,” he told state television RAI. Last week Fiat said that this year would be its “toughest year ever” and revealed a debt pile three times its forecasts.
■STEEL
Corus to cut 3,500 jobs
Corus, Europe’s second-largest steel producer, is to cut 3,500 jobs, Britain’s Sunday Times reported on Sunday. The company would not comment on the report. The newspaper said the move was part of a long-term restructuring plan and numbers would be finalized over the weekend. It said the cuts — precipitated by falling demand in the construction and auto industries — would not lead to the closure of any of Corus’ British sites. Corus, a subsidiary of India’s Tata Steel, employs 24,000 people in Britain.
■OIL
Field found off Gabon
Japanese trading house Mitsubishi Corp said yesterday that it has discovered an oil field in Gabon, raising hope for more energy production from West Africa. The oil field, in the Atlantic Ocean, has up to 14 million barrels in possible reserves, Mitsubishi said. By comparison, Africa as a whole had close to 115 million barrels of proven oil reserves last year, the US’ Energy Information Administration has said. Mitsubishi said its subsidiary, MPDC Gabon Co, has a 50 percent stake in the oil field, with the other half held by France’s Perenco. The field, named Loche East Marine, is already producing 1,000 barrels a day, Mitsubishi said in a statement.
■ENERGY
Suez Energy cancels deal
French power firm Suez Energy has pulled out of a US$787 million deal to take over a Philippine power station, citing a deterioration of the plant, reports said yesterday. Emerald Energy Corp, the vehicle used by Suez Energy to bid for the 600-megawatt coal-fired power plant at Calaca, north of Manila, submitted the highest bid in a government auction in October 2007 for the plant. The Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp, which has been assigned to sell off Philippine government power assets, said the company pulled out citing a “deterioration in the condition of the Calaca plant.”
■PORTS
Dubai feeling the pinch
Dubai port operator DP World says that while trade at its terminals grew last year, the slowing economy has begun hurting business. The government-owned company, one of the world’s biggest cargo handlers, said yesterday that business growth slowed at many of its 46 ports in the second half of the year. The slowdown was most noticeable over the last few months, suggesting the drop in global trade may be accelerating. DP World chief financial officer Yuvraj Narayan said the impact is being felt most in Asia and parts of Europe. He said management is now focused on “cash preservation” and spending is under review.
■ HONG KONG
Tsang upbeat on Ox year
Chief Executive Donald Tsang (曾蔭權) issued a bullish assessment yesterday of the territory’s prospects for recovering from the global economic downturn in the Year of the Ox. In his Lunar New Year address Tsang said: “Hong Kongers are no strangers to adversity. We are used to thriving on challenges. “I believe that if we pull together as a community, no challenge will be too big for Hong Kong.” Tsang said he believed the retail market was doing “better than expected” despite the global slump. Hong Kong officially entered recession at the end of last year when it recorded its second consecutive quarter of economic contraction. Unemployment has climbed to more than 4 percent.
■AVIATION
Paris to help buy aircraft
The French government will provide aircraft manufacturer Airbus and its parent company, EADS, with 5 billion euros (US$6.48 billion) in aid, the business daily Les Echos reported yesterday. The money, which will be issued in dollars, is to be used to help cash-strapped airlines honor their orders for Airbus aircraft and other EADS products, the daily said, citing Finance Ministry experts. The newly created Company for the Refinancement of the French Economy will provide 7 billion euros to the banking system, obliging the banks to use the funds to support export contracts, the paper said.
■GOLD
Bangkok dealers shut doors
Erratic price fluctuations on the international market have forced gold shops in Bangkok’s Chinatown district to shut their doors yesterday. Jitti Tangsitpakdi, president of the Gold Traders’ Association of Thailand, said gold jewelry shops in Yaowarat, Bangkok’s Chinatown, will stay closed until tomorrow to weather out the wild fluctuations in gold prices. “The world gold prices have been changing several times in a day. Our shops have to change the prices many times so we decide to stop selling gold items on Monday and Tuesday,” Jitti said. This is the first time gold shops have closed during the Lunar New Year, usually a period of heavy sales.
■INVESTMENT
Lehman chief sells house
Lehman Brothers chief executive Richard Fuld sold his US$13.3 million mansion to his wife for just US$100 last November, Florida real estate records show. The 62-year old executive, who could face civil lawsuits after overseeing the storied investment bank’s collapse into Chapter 11 proceedings last September, transferred ownership of the seaside home to Kathleen Fuld on Nov. 10, records show. The couple had jointly bought the home for US$13.75 million in March 2004, as first reported by Cityfile.com. Lehman collapsed on Sept. 15 after it was weighed down by bad assets leading to the largest-ever US bankruptcy.
■FRANCE
New businesses increase
The country saw a record number of new businesses created last year, junior minister Herve Novelli said in Monday’s issue of Le Figaro Economie. The government estimate of 325,700 new businesses is a 1.3 percent rise on 2007. “The figures are excellent given the very marked economic slowdown at the end of the year,” said Novelli, in charge of support for small and medium-sized businesses. Business creation was strong in the services sector, particularly in new services for the elderly. Novelli said there had been considerable interest in new regulations for the self-employed, which cut red tape and reduced the tax burden.
SEEKING CLARITY: Washington should not adopt measures that create uncertainties for ‘existing semiconductor investments,’ TSMC said referring to its US$165 billion in the US Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) told the US that any future tariffs on Taiwanese semiconductors could reduce demand for chips and derail its pledge to increase its investment in Arizona. “New import restrictions could jeopardize current US leadership in the competitive technology industry and create uncertainties for many committed semiconductor capital projects in the US, including TSMC Arizona’s significant investment plan in Phoenix,” the chipmaker wrote in a letter to the US Department of Commerce. TSMC issued the warning in response to a solicitation for comments by the department on a possible tariff on semiconductor imports by US President Donald Trump’s
The government has launched a three-pronged strategy to attract local and international talent, aiming to position Taiwan as a new global hub following Nvidia Corp’s announcement that it has chosen Taipei as the site of its Taiwan headquarters. Nvidia cofounder and CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) on Monday last week announced during his keynote speech at the Computex trade show in Taipei that the Nvidia Constellation, the company’s planned Taiwan headquarters, would be located in the Beitou-Shilin Technology Park (北投士林科技園區) in Taipei. Huang’s decision to establish a base in Taiwan is “primarily due to Taiwan’s talent pool and its strength in the semiconductor
An earnings report from semiconductor giant and artificial intelligence (AI) bellwether Nvidia Corp takes center stage for Wall Street this week, as stocks hit a speed bump of worries over US federal deficits driving up Treasury yields. US equities pulled back last week after a torrid rally, as investors turned their attention to tax and spending legislation poised to swell the US government’s US$36 trillion in debt. Long-dated US Treasury yields rose amid the fiscal worries, with the 30-year yield topping 5 percent and hitting its highest level since late 2023. Stocks were dealt another blow on Friday when US President Donald
UNCERTAINTY: Investors remain worried that trade negotiations with Washington could go poorly, given Trump’s inconsistency on tariffs in his second term, experts said The consumer confidence index this month fell for a ninth consecutive month to its lowest level in 13 months, as global trade uncertainties and tariff risks cloud Taiwan’s economic outlook, a survey released yesterday by National Central University found. The biggest decline came from the timing for stock investments, which plunged 11.82 points to 26.82, underscoring bleak investor confidence, it said. “Although the TAIEX reclaimed the 21,000-point mark after the US and China agreed to bury the hatchet for 90 days, investors remain worried that the situation would turn sour later,” said Dachrahn Wu (吳大任), director of the university’s Research Center for
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