TRANSPORT
Brussels strike continues
Transport workers in Brussels have continued a strike for the second day after an employee was beaten to death on Saturday morning. The company that runs public transport in Brussels says that subways, buses and trams will not start running again until a meeting is held with the interior minister to discuss improved safety. The ministry said yesterday a meeting between Interior Minister Joelle Milquet and representatives of union Societe des Transports Intercommunaux de Bruxelles representatives will now take place this afternoon.
TECHNOLOGY
Engineer admits Intel theft
US federal prosecutors say an employee pleaded guilty to secretly downloading computer chip manufacturing and design documents from Intel Corp while looking for a job elsewhere. Biswamohan Pani, 36, pleaded guilty on Friday in US District Court in Boston to five counts of wire fraud. He faces up to 20 years in prison and other penalties at sentencing. Prosecutors say Pani downloaded numerous secret documents detailing Intel’s manufacturing and design of computer chips in May 2008, shortly after he announced that he was leaving his job in Hudson, Massachusetts. Santa Clara, California-based Intel valued those documents at between US$200 million and US$400 million. The company detected and reported the theft.
RESTAURANTS
Bloomin’ seeks capital
Bloomin’ Brands Inc, owner of the Outback Steakhouse restaurant chain, is seeking to raise US$300 million in an initial public offering to help pay down debt, the company said in a filing on Friday. The Tampa, Florida-based company, owned by Bain Capital LLC and Catterton Management Co, will trade under the ticker BLM. Bloomin’ Brands also owns the chains Carrabba’s Italian Grill, Bonefish Grill, Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar and Roy’s Hawaiian Fusion Cuisine. Last year, Bloomin’ Brands had net income of US$100 million, or US$0.94 a share, on revenue of US$3.84 billion, the company said in the filing.
UTILITIES
Gazprom bids for Greek gas
Russian gas giant Gazprom has submitted a preliminary bid to purchase the Greek gas corporation DEPA, deputy chairman Alexander Medvedev said on Saturday. “We have submitted a preliminary bid and are hoping that we will pass the qualification process. The price we will offer will be completely real, we will not overpay,” he was quoted by RIA Novosti agency as saying. Greece has invited bids for both DEPA and its subsidiary, national distributor DESFA, in a privatization drive to reduce the country’s debt. Gazprom will not be expressing interest in DESFA, Medvedev said. The Greek state owns 65 percent of DEPA, with the remaining 35 percent owned by leading state-controlled refiners HELPE.
TECHNOLOGY
Apple in iPad advert trouble
Britain’s advertising regulator is deciding whether to launch an inquiry into Apple Inc’s marketing of its latest iPad following what some customers said were misleading claims about access to 4G, which is not available in the country. Fourth-generation or 4G technology enables users to access faster Internet broadband services. “We have received 24 complaints about claims on Apple’s Web site about 4G on the iPad. We are assessing whether there are grounds for investigation,” a spokesman for the Advertising Standards Authority said on Saturday.
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
US CONSCULTANT: The US Department of Commerce’s Ursula Burns is a rarely seen US government consultant to be put forward to sit on the board, nominated as an independent director Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, yesterday nominated 10 candidates for its new board of directors, including Ursula Burns from the US Department of Commerce. It is rare that TSMC has nominated a US government consultant to sit on its board. Burns was nominated as one of seven independent directors. She is vice chair of the department’s Advisory Council on Supply Chain Competitiveness. Burns is to stand for election at TSMC’s annual shareholders’ meeting on June 4 along with the rest of the candidates. TSMC chairman Mark Liu (劉德音) was not on the list after in December last