RATINGS
Moody’s expects no US suit
Credit ratings company Moody’s does not believe it is the subject of any “impending” US lawsuit over its ratings of mortgage bonds ahead of the 2008 crisis, the company’s chief executive said on Friday. Moody’s chief executive Ray McDaniel characterized recent interactions with regulators as routine, after repeated questions from analysts on an earnings conference call about the Department of Justice’s lawsuit against Standard & Poor’s. “We don’t have any knowledge of any impending complaint by the Department of Justice raising similar claims against Moody’s,” McDaniel said, adding that Moody’s was not named in the Department of Justice’s suit against S&P.
MINING
Glencore considers listing
Metals and mining giant Glencore is considering listing itself on the South African stock exchange, the world’s top minerals bourse, a source familiar with the issue said on Friday. The potential move could be part of a drive to increase Glencore’s clout as it seals its merger with fellow mining multinational Xstrata, the source said on condition of anonymity. Both groups are headquartered in the tax-friendly Swiss canton of Zug. Glencore’s merger with Xstrata is due to be completed by March 15, provided Chinese regulators give a green light. The merger has already won the conditional approval of the European Commission as well as South African competition authorities.
AVIATION
Boards to vote on merger
The boards of American Airlines parent AMR Corp and US Airways Group Inc are prepared to vote on a merger tomorrow as executives and advisers work on final terms this weekend, people familiar with the matter said. The sides have agreed that AMR’s bankruptcy creditors would get 72 percent of the equity in the new carrier, with 28 percent for US Airways shareholders, said two of the people, who asked not to be identified because the talks are private. US Airways chief executive officer Doug Parker will run the airline as AMR CEO Tom Horton becomes non-executive chairman, the person said.
INTERNET
Advertising galvanizes AOL
AOL is showing signs of revival with gains in advertising, a key step toward the reinvention of the former Internet star as a media firm. AOL said on Friday profits in the fourth quarter jumped 57 percent from a year earlier to US$35.7 million, led by a rise in ad revenues. Total revenues were up 4 percent from a year earlier to US$599.5 million, in what the company said was the first time revenue had increased year-over-year in eight years. The growth was led by advertising, which saw a 13 percent jump in revenue.
FAST FOOD
McDonald’s gets US surprise
McDonald’s Corp, the world’s largest restaurant chain, posted a surprise gain in US same-store sales last month while demand slumped in the Asia-Pacific region. Sales in the US increased 0.9 percent last month, the Oak Brook, Illinois-based company said on Friday in a statement. Analysts projected a drop of 0.3 percent, the average of 14 estimates compiled by Consensus Metrix. Sales in Asia-Pacific, the Middle East and Africa plunged 9.5 percent while analysts anticipated a decline of 5.8 percent. The company’s same-store sales in Japan, the company’s largest Asian market with about 3,200 locations, dropped 17 percent last month, it said.
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