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World Business Quick Take

■ Bank of America
Japanese workers fired
Bank of America Corp, the third-largest US bank, fired half of its employees in Japan, where it has operated for 53 years, saying business won't recover soon in an economy that had three recessions in the past decade. The cuts will leave Bank of America with 110 people in Tokyo and 2,000 in Asia, spokeswoman Susan Beard said. There are no job cuts planned outside Japan, she said. Bank of America eliminated 8,726 jobs last year and wants to reduce expenses by US$1 billion a year because the stalled US economy is eroding demand for loans and stock and bond sales. Securities firms operating in Japan cut 7,400 jobs last year, retreating from a stock market that lost three-quarters of its value since 1990. "Some foreign firms are finding it impossible to endure the war of attrition," said Tsuyoshi Segawa, an equity strategist at Shinko Securities Co.

■ Phone chips
Intel combines features
Intel Corp, the world's biggest maker of computer chips, plans to start shipping a cellphone chip that combines computing, memory and signal functions, a first Intel hopes will capture sales. Selling a single semiconductor that does the work of three will allow a cell phone to be smaller, have a longer battery life and be less expensive, said Dennis Sheehan, director of marketing in Intel's wireless computing group. Intel builds the PXA800F chip using a single factory process, a step that allows the product to be built in mass quantities for lower costs, he said. Intel is trying to take sales from Texas Instruments Inc, the biggest maker of chips to power mobile phones, as demand for personal computers slows. Texas Instruments is working on its own multifunction chip, which it expects to start shipping before the end of next year, said Alain Mutricy, a vice president of the company.

■ News Corp
Results beat expectations
News Corp reported second-quarter results slightly ahead of expectations Wednesday, as gains in its film entertainment and cable networks businesses offset mixed results in its television and newspaper divisions and continuing losses related to its Gemstar investment. In a conference call, executives said that while they are still interested in acquiring a US satellite provider, they will not be drawn into a prolonged battle. For the three months ending Dec. 31, the media conglomerate earned US$239 million, or 24 cents per US share, compared with a loss of US$606 million, or US$0.50 per share, at the same time in 2001 when results were hurt by a US$909 million write-down of the company's sports contracts. Year-to-date, the media conglomerate has earned US$401 million, or US$0.36 per US share, up from a loss of US$533 million, or US$0.45 per share.

■ Flat screens
Pioneer to delay production
Pioneer Corp, Japan's largest maker of car navigation systems, expects to delay for a year the mass production of new flat-screen displays initially targeted for smaller products such as mobile phones. Pioneer planned to begin mass producing the screens last year, with monthly production capacity of 500,000 panels, Executive Vice President Katsuhiro Abe said in an interview. It is currently making samples at subsidiary Tohoku Pioneer Corp.
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