■ Clothing
Levi's calls in help
Troubled jeans maker Levi Strauss & Co replaced its chief financial officer and sought help from a turnaround firm with a history of repairing destitute companies. Without providing a reason for the change, Levi's said Monday that its CFO of the past five years, Bill Chiasson, had left the company. At the same time, Levi's hired Alvarez & Marsal, a New York-based consultant that has counseled dozens of struggling companies during the past 20 years. Levi's named Jim Fogarty, a managing director for Alvarez & Marsal, as its interim CFO. The shake-up comes with San Francisco-based Levi's mired in a seven-year sales slump as it battles to improve its tarnished credit rating and deal with questions about its accounting practices.
■ Credit Cards
Record loss registered
The ratio of overdue loans at South Korea's eight credit-card firms hit an all-time high of 11.2 percent at the end of September, financial regulators said yesterday. The eight companies posted a net loss of 1.55 trillion won (US$1.29 billion) in the three months to September, compared with a net loss of 1.64 trillion won in the previous quarter, the Financial Supervisory Service said. Their delinquency ratio, covering bills overdue more than one month, rose to 11.2 percent from 9.4 percent over the three months, it said. Woori Card had the the highest delinquency rate at 26.42 percent. "A steady rise in bad loan provisions and a steep decline in their major income source of cash loans resulted in a huge net loss this year," the FSS said in a statement.
■ Flat panels
Fuji to boost investment
Japan's Fuji Photo Film Co said yesterday it plans to spend ?110 billion (US$1.01 billion) over the next four years on its business that produces materials used in flat-panel displays. The planned outlay is double the estimated ?55 billion (US$505 million) it will have spent on the business in the three years up to March of next year. Japan's leading photo film maker has shifted its focus to production of film used in products such a flat-screen televisions and computers, and liquid crystal display panels. Demand for those products has been booming, whereas growth in the company's traditional photo film business has flagged due to the popularity of digital cameras. Much of the investment will go toward increasing production capacity of materials used in LCD panels, the company said.
■ United States
More signs of recovery
A pair of upbeat reports reinforced rising optimism about the US' economic recovery: the manufacturing sector expanded in November for a fifth consecutive month and at its fastest rate in nearly two decades, while October construction spending was the best month on record. The Institute for Supply Management reported that its manufacturing index soared last month to its fastest clip since December 1983. The index registered at 62.8, a large increase from the October reading of 57 and well above analysts' expectations of 58.1. An index reading above 50 indicates expansion; one below 50 indicates that manufacturing activity is contracting. Also on Monday, the Commerce Department reported that the total value of building projects under way came in at a seasonally adjusted US$922 billion in October, a 0.9 percent increase from the previous month.
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source