■ RETAIL
Carrefour abandons bid
Carrefour SA, Europe's biggest retailer, will not bid for Turkish supermarket chain Migros Turk TAS, the Paris-based company's Turkish partner said in a filing with the Istanbul Stock Exchange yesterday. Carrefour and Haci Omer Sabanci Holding AS, which together run supermarkets in Turkey, decided not to bid for Migros Turk, Sabanci said in the filing, without giving details. Sabanci had said in November that its joint venture with Carrefour made a "non-binding" bid for Migros Turk, Turkey's biggest retailer, which was put up for sale in June by its owner Koc Holding AS.
■ FAST FOOD
Brits No. 1 consumers
US fast-food giant McDonald's is selling more burgers in Britain than at any time in the 34 years since it opened its first outlet here, the Times said yesterday, quoting company figures. The newspaper said there were more than 88 million visits to the "golden arches" in Britain last month, up nearly 10 million on the previous 12 months and the equivalent of about 320,000 more each day. The findings followed a study by pollsters Synovate in conjunction with the BBC published on Jan. 2, which said Britons were now the world's biggest fans of fast food, just ahead of Americans.
■ BANKING
Credit Suisse shares drop
Credit Suisse Group dropped the most in three weeks in Zurich trading after a newspaper report said Switzerland's second-biggest bank may have further writedowns related to the US subprime collapse in the fourth quarter. Credit Suisse fell 1.7 Swiss Franc,or 2.6 percent, to SF64, valuing the company at SF74.4 billion (US$66.7 billion). The 63-member Bloomberg Europe Banks and Financial Services Index declined 0.4 percent. The bank may have writedowns of at least SF2.5 billion in the fourth quarter because of its investments in US shopping centers and leveraged buyouts, the Sonntag newspaper reported yesterday.
■ OIL
Chavez tackles shortages
State oil company PDVSA is creating a subsidiary to produce and distribute food in the country, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said on Sunday, following months of shortages of basic food products. After a stinging poll defeat last month, Chavez has promised to resolve the nagging shortages of groceries like beef, eggs and milk that have sparked long lines in recent months -- a problem business blame on government price controls. During his weekly Sunday broadcast, Chavez said the subsidiary, called PDVAL, would be a "new instrument for nutritional sovereignty." "They are going to belong to PDVSA, soon the PDVALs will start appearing," he said.
■ INVESTMENT
Westfield in WTC venture
Australian major shopping center owner Westfield will invest US$625 million in a retail project at the site of the World Trade Center (WTC) in New York, it said yesterday. The Westfield Group said it will set up a joint venture with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to develop and operate a US$1.45 billion retail project at the site of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Westfield, Australia's largest shopping center owner, originally acquired an interest in the retail facilities at the WTC in July 2001 for about US$130 million. But two years after the towers were levelled by the attacks, Westfield sold its interest to the Port Authority.
NO HUMAN ERROR: After the incident, the Coast Guard Administration said it would obtain uncrewed aerial vehicles and vessels to boost its detection capacity Authorities would improve border control to prevent unlawful entry into Taiwan’s waters and safeguard national security, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday after a Chinese man reached the nation’s coast on an inflatable boat, saying he “defected to freedom.” The man was found on a rubber boat when he was about to set foot on Taiwan at the estuary of Houkeng River (後坑溪) near Taiping Borough (太平) in New Taipei City’s Linkou District (林口), authorities said. The Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) northern branch said it received a report at 6:30am yesterday morning from the New Taipei City Fire Department about a
IN BEIJING’S FAVOR: A China Coast Guard spokesperson said that the Chinese maritime police would continue to carry out law enforcement activities in waters it claims The Philippines withdrew its coast guard vessel from a South China Sea shoal that has recently been at the center of tensions with Beijing. BRP Teresa Magbanua “was compelled to return to port” from Sabina Shoal (Xianbin Shoal, 仙濱暗沙) due to bad weather, depleted supplies and the need to evacuate personnel requiring medical care, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesman Jay Tarriela said yesterday in a post on X. The Philippine vessel “will be in tiptop shape to resume her mission” after it has been resupplied and repaired, Philippine Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, who heads the nation’s maritime council, said
REGIONAL STABILITY: Taipei thanked the Biden administration for authorizing its 16th sale of military goods and services to uphold Taiwan’s defense and safety The US Department of State has approved the sale of US$228 million of military goods and services to Taiwan, the US Department of Defense said on Monday. The state department “made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale” to the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the US for “return, repair and reshipment of spare parts and related equipment,” the defense department’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency said in a news release. Taiwan had requested the purchase of items and services which include the “return, repair and reshipment of classified and unclassified spare parts for aircraft and related equipment; US Government
More than 500 people on Saturday marched in New York in support of Taiwan’s entry to the UN, significantly more people than previous years. The march, coinciding with the ongoing 79th session of the UN General Assembly, comes close on the heels of growing international discourse regarding the meaning of UN Resolution 2758. Resolution 2758, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1971, recognizes the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as the “only lawful representative of China.” It resulted in the Republic of China (ROC) losing its seat at the UN to the PRC. Taiwan has since been excluded from