■TELECOMS
Nortel seeks legal advice
Nortel Networks Corp has sought legal advice to study a bankruptcy protection scenario in the event that its restructuring plan fails, and has also been exploring potential assistance from the Canadian government, the Wall Street Journal reported. Nortel’s spokesperson said no bankruptcy filing was imminent though the Toronto-based company had engaged several advisers to plan ahead, the newspaper reported. Nortel has lost billions of dollars and cut tens of thousands of jobs since the technology bubble burst at the beginning of this decade.
■SEMICONDUCTORS
Intel sues S Korean agency
Intel Corp said yesterday it is taking South Korea’s fair trade watchdog to court over a decision to fine it for undercutting competitors. Intel filed a formal complaint at the Seoul High Court to try and overturn the Korea Fair Trade Commission decision, the company said in a statement. Intel said it was reacting to a final written decision by the commission last month ordering it to pay 26.6 billion won (US$18.6 million) for violating fair trade rules by paying rebates to South Korean computer companies to undercut main rival Advanced Micro Devices Inc. Intel denied any wrongdoing.
■AUTOMOBILES
Toyota cutting production
Toyota Motor Corp said yesterday it would suspend part of the production in Indiana and Kentucky for up to nine days and in Canada for up to 10 days early next year to cope with a slump in the global auto industry. It will also halt production of its Tacoma and Corolla brands at a plant jointly operated with General Motors in California for 10 days, a Toyota spokesman said.
■INVESTMENT
AIG owes on bad trades
American International Group Inc (AIG) owes some of the biggest companies on Wall Street about US$10 billion for trades that have gone bad, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter. The losses are not covered under terms of the current US$150 billion US government bailout plan, the report said.
■INVESTMENT
Nikko Cordial to cut jobs
Citigroup Inc will slash some 1,000 jobs at its Japanese brokerage unit, Nikko Cordial Securities Inc, as part of its efforts to survive the financial meltdown, the Kyodo News agency said yesterday. Nikko Cordial will cut its work force through early retirement, and some 1,000 employees, mostly those aged above 40, have accepted severance offers, the agency said, citing no sources. The brokerage employs about 7,000 workers, and the job cuts will amount to 14 percent of its total work force.
■AVIATION
Airlines told to cut orders
China is urging its troubled state-owned airlines to cancel or defer new aircraft purchases — a move that could hurt US and European aircraft makers. Airlines are also being urged not to renew leases for aircraft rented from foreign firms and to ground or sell some planes, according to an announcement seen yesterday on the Web site of industry regulator the Civil Aviation Administration of China. No new airlines will be approved for operation before at least 2010 and carriers should switch passenger service to freight where applicable and retire larger numbers of old aircraft, the administration said.
NEXT GENERATION: The four plants in the Central Taiwan Science Park, designated Fab 25, would consist of four 1.4-nanometer wafer manufacturing plants, TSMC said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) plans to begin construction of four new plants later this year, with the aim to officially launch production of 2-nanometer semiconductor wafers by late 2028, Central Taiwan Science Park Bureau director-general Hsu Maw-shin (許茂新) said. Hsu made the announcement at an event on Friday evening celebrating the Central Taiwan Science Park’s 22nd anniversary. The second phase of the park’s expansion would commence with the initial construction of water detention ponds and other structures aimed at soil and water conservation, Hsu said. TSMC has officially leased the land, with the Central Taiwan Science Park having handed over the
AUKUS: The Australian Ambassador to the US said his country is working with the Pentagon and he is confident that submarine issues will be resolved Australian Ambassador to the US Kevin Rudd on Friday said that if Taiwan were to fall to China’s occupation, it would unleash China’s military capacities and capabilities more broadly. He also said his country is working with the Pentagon on the US Department of Defense’s review of the AUKUS submarine project and is confident that all issues raised will be resolved. Rudd, who served as Australian prime minister from 2007 to 2010 and for three months in 2013, made the remarks at the Aspen Security Forum in Colorado and stressed the longstanding US-Australia alliance and his close relationship with the US Undersecretary
‘WORLD WAR III’: Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene said the aid would inflame tensions, but her amendment was rejected 421 votes against six The US House of Representatives on Friday passed the Department of Defense Appropriations Act for fiscal 2026, which includes US$500 million for Taiwan. The bill, which totals US$831.5 billion in discretionary spending, passed in a 221-209 vote. According to the bill, the funds for Taiwan would be administered by the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency and would remain available through Sept. 30, 2027, for the Taiwan Security Cooperation Initiative. The legislation authorizes the US Secretary of Defense, with the agreement of the US Secretary of State, to use the funds to assist Taiwan in procuring defense articles and services, and military training. Republican Representative
TAIWAN IS TAIWAN: US Representative Tom Tiffany said the amendment was not controversial, as ‘Taiwan is not — nor has it ever been — part of Communist China’ The US House of Representatives on Friday passed an amendment banning the US Department of Defense from creating, buying or displaying any map that shows Taiwan as part of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). The “Honest Maps” amendment was approved in a voice vote on Friday as part of the Department of Defense Appropriations Act for the 2026 fiscal year. The amendment prohibits using any funds from the act to create, buy or display maps that show Taiwan, Kinmen, Matsu, Penghu, Wuciou (烏坵), Green Island (綠島) or Orchid Island (Lanyu, 蘭嶼) as part of the PRC. The act includes US$831.5 billion in
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