AUTOMAKERS
GM recalls SUVs
General Motors Co (GM) is recalling 51,640 sport-utility vehicles (SUVs) to fix software that may not register correct fuel levels, the latest in a series of safety actions this year involving about 7 million vehicles. A flawed engine-control module in some Buick Enclave, Chevrolet Traverse and GMC Acadia SUVs may result in empty tanks or stalled engines that could lead to crashes, according to a notice posted yesterday on the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Web site. The company will recalibrate the fuel system free of charge. The planned fix follows other GM recalls including that of 2.59 million small cars for faulty ignition switches that allowed keys to slip out of their “on” positions, cutting engine power and disabling air bags. GM took a US$1.3 billion charge in the quarter ended March 31 to cover recall costs.
RETAIL
Carrefour ‘plans India exit’
Carrefour, the world’s second-largest retailer, is working on a plan to exit India, media reports said on Saturday, amid political uncertainty about the future of multi-brand retail in the South Asian giant. The reports in the Times of India, the Business Standard and other dailies come as the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party, tipped to win India’s marathon general election which winds up in the middle of this month, declared that it opposes allowing foreign direct investment in multi-brand retail. Indian newspapers quoted unnamed sources in the France-based company as saying Carrefour had been working on an exit strategy for two weeks. The newspapers said Carrefour’s plans to leave the country come after talks to sell its five wholesale stores to Indian tycoon Sunil Bharti Mittal’s retail group failed.
PHARMACEUTICALS
Probe suspends takeover
India’s Sun Pharma said on Saturday it would take “appropriate action” after a court suspended the generic giant’s US$3.2 billion takeover of troubled rival Ranbaxy while insider trading allegations are probed. The Andhra Pradesh High Court order, dated April 25, but which came to light late last week, marks a setback to the deal. The ruling follows a petition submitted by two investors seeking an investigation into accusations of insider trading in Ranbaxy shares ahead of the takeover announcement earlier in the month. The court ordered that the “status quo” existing before the transaction be maintained. Ranbaxy is 64 percent owned by Japanese drugmaker Daiichi Sankyo. The investors alleged in their writ petition that some investors knew about the merger ahead of its announcement and profited, breaking insider trading rules.
LABOR
FinCEN faces investigation
The US Treasury Department temporarily froze all recruitment by its anti-money laundering arm and forced the agency to rescind 11 job offers, after an investigation found that it violated the federal employment code during an aggressive hiring push, according to several government officials. The Office of Personnel Management, a federal agency that governs labor practices in the government, determined that the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, known as FinCEN, illegally screened candidates in a quest to hire only lawyers for certain jobs, the officials said. It has recommended further investigations by two other federal agencies into FinCEN’s practices. Rules for hiring at government agencies make it illegal to screen candidates for qualifications that are not stipulated in the job description, the officials 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