GOIN’ DOWN, DOWN, DOWN: Calling the current crisis a ‘severe, steep, broadly based recession,’ economists estimated that the worst drop would occur this quarter
The US economy is likely to keep deteriorating early this year — after shrinking last quarter by the most since 1982 — as consumers and businesses retrench.

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Bank of America Corp is deferring payment last year’s bonuses of US$50,000 or more at its capital markets and investment banking units over three years, people familiar with the matter said.

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A Merrill Lynch & Co brokerage agreed to pay US$1 million to settle US regulatory claims that employees in a Florida office misled pension clients and failed to disclose conflicts of interest from 2002 to 2005.

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British small businesses are shedding jobs at the fastest rate in 17 years, the country’s biggest employers’ organization said in a report released yesterday.

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TROUBLE ON THE HOME FRONT: Houses worth more than US$1.4 million fell 3.7 percent from the previous month, with most analysts doubtful of a rapid recovery
London luxury-home prices had the second-biggest decline on record last month as would-be buyers struggled to secure mortgages from banks hurt by the global financial crisis.

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US investors are growing leery of the goverment’s financial rescue efforts and losing confidence in the stability of markets, a survey published on Friday showed.

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BLACK GOLD: As most of the industrialized world struggled with a financial crisis, the oil giant raked in the biggest profit ever declared by a public company
Exxon Mobil on Friday notched a record US$45.22 billion profit last year despite a 33 percent income decline in the fourth quarter as the oil giant rode out high volatility in energy prices.

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By Amy Yang
Despite the an economic downturn, two of the nation’s leading beverage makers — Hey Song Corp (黑松) and King Car Industrial Co (金車) — recently announced they were expanding into the alcohol market.

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SPLASHDOWN: ’Hero on the Hudson’ offers a virtual re-enactment of a crash-landing near New York. If players fail, they hear the sound of their jet sinking
A free computer game went online on Friday that challenges players to become the next “Hero on the Hudson” by safely landing a virtual passenger jet on the New York City waterway.

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Gareth Thomas, UK minister for Trade, Investment and Consumer Affairs, visited Taiwan from Jan. 14 to Jan. 16 as part of a regional visit that included Singapore, Vietnam and Malaysia for bilateral trade talks. During an interview with Taipei Times staff reporter Elizabeth Tchii, Thomas shared his observation and thoughts about reducing regulations to improve market access for Taiwanese and British firms

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■AID

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