STEEL
ThyssenKrupp forges ahead
ThyssenKrupp, the biggest German steel group, is doing well in its core activities, but said yesterday that its second quarter net profit was hit once again by charges stemming from new plants. The company reported a net profit of 212 million euros (US$300 million) for the three months from April to June, a drop of 22 percent from the same period a year earlier. However, sales increased 10 percent to 12.8 billion euros and core earnings before interest and taxes was 9 percent higher at 545 million euros.
POST
US Post to downsize by 20%
The US Postal Service plans to slash its workforce by 20 percent, eliminating 120,000 jobs by 2015 as it struggles to stay solvent, the Washington Post reported late on Thursday. The newspaper, citing internal documents, said the Postal Service’s plan is in addition to the 100,000 other jobs it expects to shed through attrition as employees leave the company or retire. The workforce reduction would come mainly through layoffs, with the remainder through buyouts and early retirements.
INVESTMENT
SVG mulls share buyback
Private equity investor SVG Capital said asset values rose steeply and it could buy back shares when it sees proceeds from sales of Permira companies, which account for the bulk of its portfolio. SVG, seen by many as a listed proxy for buyouts firm Permira, which accounts for more than 80 percent of its investment portfolio, said asset valuations rose 25 percent in the six months to the end of June, to £3.939. The company said it remained committed to investing in private equity, adding that it could return cash to shareholders when proceeds from sales of companies owned by Permira begin to accelerate.
TOYS
Mattel appeals court award
Mattel Inc plans to appeal a federal judge’s award of more than US$309 million to rival toy maker MGA Entertainment Inc in the fight over ownership of the popular Bratz fashion doll line. The toy giant’s attorneys filed papers on Thursday declaring their intent to appeal last week’s decision by US District Court Judge David Carter. Mattel said in a statement that it wants to find a resolution “that allows us to conclude this litigation on terms that are reasonable and fair.”
CHINA
Fake Apple stores found
Authorities in the southwestern city of Kunming have identified another 22 unauthorized Apple retailers, just weeks after a fake company store in the city sparked an international storm. The Administration for Industry and Commerce in the Yunnan provincial capital said the stores have been ordered to stop using Apple’s logo after Apple China accused them of unfair competition and violating its registered trademark, state media said on Thursday. The market watchdog agency said it would set up a complaint hotline and boost monitoring, the official Xinhua news agency reported.
COMPUTERS
HP cuts price of TouchPads
US technology giant Hewlett-Packard (HP) on Thursday cut the price of its newly launched TouchPad tablet computers in a bid to gain traction in a market dominated by Apple’s iPad. TouchPads with 16 gigabytes of memory were offered on the HP Web site for US$400 and models with 32 gigabytes were available for US$500 in what amounted to lopping US$100 off the original prices.
Taiwan Transport and Storage Corp (TTS, 台灣通運倉儲) yesterday unveiled its first electric tractor unit — manufactured by Volvo Trucks — in a ceremony in Taipei, and said the unit would soon be used to transport cement produced by Taiwan Cement Corp (TCC, 台灣水泥). Both TTS and TCC belong to TCC International Holdings Ltd (台泥國際集團). With the electric tractor unit, the Taipei-based cement firm would become the first in Taiwan to use electric vehicles to transport construction materials. TTS chairman Koo Kung-yi (辜公怡), Volvo Trucks vice president of sales and marketing Johan Selven, TCC president Roman Cheng (程耀輝) and Taikoo Motors Group
Stephen Garrett, a 27-year-old graduate student, always thought he would study in China, but first the country’s restrictive COVID-19 policies made it nearly impossible and now he has other concerns. The cost is one deterrent, but Garrett is more worried about restrictions on academic freedom and the personal risk of being stranded in China. He is not alone. Only about 700 American students are studying at Chinese universities, down from a peak of nearly 25,000 a decade ago, while there are nearly 300,000 Chinese students at US schools. Some young Americans are discouraged from investing their time in China by what they see
MAJOR DROP: CEO Tim Cook, who is visiting Hanoi, pledged the firm was committed to Vietnam after its smartphone shipments declined 9.6% annually in the first quarter Apple Inc yesterday said it would increase spending on suppliers in Vietnam, a key production hub, as CEO Tim Cook arrived in the country for a two-day visit. The iPhone maker announced the news in a statement on its Web site, but gave no details of how much it would spend or where the money would go. Cook is expected to meet programmers, content creators and students during his visit, online newspaper VnExpress reported. The visit comes as US President Joe Biden’s administration seeks to ramp up Vietnam’s role in the global tech supply chain to reduce the US’ dependence on China. Images on
New apartments in Taiwan’s major cities are getting smaller, while old apartments are increasingly occupied by older people, many of whom live alone, government data showed. The phenomenon has to do with sharpening unaffordable property prices and an aging population, property brokers said. Apartments with one bedroom that are two years old or older have gained a noticeable presence in the nation’s six special municipalities as well as Hsinchu county and city in the past five years, Evertrust Rehouse Co (永慶房產集團) found, citing data from the government’s real-price transaction platform. In Taipei, apartments with one bedroom accounted for 19 percent of deals last