BANKING
UBS to pay US$135m fine
Switzerland’s largest bank, UBS AG, has agreed to pay US$135 million to settle claims that it helped rig currency-exchange rates in a scheme involving some of the world’s biggest banks. The settlement announced on Friday by the lead law firm in the case resolves a class-action lawsuit against UBS by pension funds and other investors that engaged in foreign currency transactions with the bank. The investors also sued 11 other major banks, accusing them of colluding to fatten their profits. In its annual report issued on Friday, UBS, which is based in Zurich, Switzerland, noted its agreement to pay US$135 million and to provide cooperation.
AUTOMAKERS
GM settles ignition lawsuit
General Motors Co (GM) has settled litigation with the family of a woman whose death helped spur a massive ignition-defect recall, representatives of GM and the family said on Friday. Neither GM nor lawyers for the family of Brooke Melton disclosed terms of the agreement. Melton, who lived in the US state of Georgia, died at age 29 in March 2010 when her 2005 Chevrolet Cobalt careened into another car after the engine suddenly shut off. Under rising public pressure, GM ended up recalling 2.6 million cars last year to address the problem, which can cause the ignition to unintentionally switch out of the “on” position, disabling airbags and other functions.
PETROLEUM
Puma buys Murco assets
Puma Energy has bought the Milford Haven oil refinery in Wales and the other UK assets of Murphy Oil Corp, Puma said in a statement on Friday, with plans to turn the Welsh site into a storage terminal. Puma Energy, which is part-owned by Swiss-based commodity trading giant Trafigura Beheer BV and Angola’s national oil company, said it would buy the Milford Haven facility and the wholesale energy sales business and three inland terminals owned by Murphy’s UK subsidiary, Murco. The acquisition is to boost Puma’s global oil storage capacity to 7 million cubic meters from 5.6 million, the firm said.
MARKETING
FBI expands Herbalife probe
The long-running US probe of Herbalife Ltd and possible manipulation of its stock by billionaire fund manager Bill Ackman has extended to one of his firm’s outside consultants, people familiar with the inquiry said on Friday. The US FBI is investigating a contractor hired by Ackman’s Pershing Square Capital Management LP and whether false statements were made to regulators, said two people familiar with the matter. Ackman and his firm have not been served with a subpoena, one of the people said. Ackman on Friday said he was aware some of his contractors were contacted by the FBI in connection with his firm’s investment against Herbalife.
INTERNET
Twitter buys Periscope app
Twitter Inc said on Friday it had purchased the maker of the video streaming app Periscope, amid what seems to be surging interest in live video sharing. Twitter did not release details about the deal, but media reports said Twitter was paying between US$50 million and US$100 million for the app, which is still in the testing phase and has only been available by invitation.
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
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
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