■AUTOMOBILES
Mitsubishi to cut 900 jobs
Mitsubishi Motors is preparing to cut some 900 more jobs as Japanese automakers downsize to cope with a slump in demand, media reports said yesterday. Japan’s fourth-largest automaker will not renew contracts for selected temporary workers at a factory in Kurashiki in western Japan, public broadcaster NHK said. The local Sanyo Shimbun said in its online edition that the factory had already terminated 250 jobs by the end of last month and the fresh job cuts could push the total number of layoffs above 1,000. “The layoff is inevitable for us to cope with the rapid fall in sales,” a factory official told the Sanyo.
■INDONESIA
Central bank cuts key rate
The central bank cut its key interest rate by half a percentage point yesterday in a bid to stimulate growth amid the global recession and easing inflationary pressures. Bank Indonesia cut its benchmark rate by a higher-than-expected 50 basis points to 8.75 percent, officials said. “Inflationary pressures continued to ease in recent months as a result of falling commodity and energy prices,” central bank governor Boediono said. The year-on-year inflation rate slowed to 11.06 percent last month from 11.68 percent in November following a cut in retail fuel prices.
■CHEMICALS
Dow sues for damages
Dow Chemical Co, the largest US chemical maker, said on Tuesday it plans to seek more than US$2.5 billion in damages from Kuwait for canceling a joint venture just days before its launch. A US$17.4 billion deal between Kuwait’s state-run Petrochemical Industries Co and Dow fell through on Dec. 28. The joint venture would have enabled Dow to acquire rival Rohm & Haas, the world’s largest maker of acrylic paint ingredients. Dow would have gained about US$7.5 billion after taxes from Kuwait’s investment. Petrochemical Industries was to buy a 50 percent stake in Dow’s commodity plastics unit. The agreement failed amid opposition from Kuwaiti parliamentarians who said it was overpriced.
■CHEMICALS
LyondellBasell unit bankrupt
The US arm of chemical giant LyondellBasell Industries has filed for bankruptcy as the recession continues to weaken demand for products made from chemicals. LyondellBasell said on Tuesday that one of its European holding companies had also filed for bankruptcy protection and that it arranged for up to US$8 billion in financing to keep operating. LyondellBasell, based in the Netherlands, is the world’s third-largest independent chemical company. The company warned last week that bankruptcy was an option as consumer demand continued to slow. The company had disclosed last month that several lenders let it postpone US$160 million in loan payments, and credit agencies cut its ratings to junk status.
■MUSIC
Apple cuts iTunes prices
Apple Inc closed its final appearance at the Macworld trade show on Tuesday by cutting the price of some songs in its market-leading iTunes online store to as little as US$0.69 and disclosing that soon every track would be available without copy protection. Apple’s top marketing executive, Philip Schiller, said iTunes songs would come in three pricing tiers: US$0.69, US$0.99 and US$1.29. Record companies will choose the prices, which marks a significant change, since Apple previously set all songs at US$0.99.
NO-LIMITS PARTNERSHIP: ‘The bottom line’ is that if the US were to have a conflict with China or Russia it would likely open up a second front with the other, a US senator said Beijing and Moscow could cooperate in a conflict over Taiwan, the top US intelligence chief told the US Senate this week. “We see China and Russia, for the first time, exercising together in relation to Taiwan and recognizing that this is a place where China definitely wants Russia to be working with them, and we see no reason why they wouldn’t,” US Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines told a US Senate Committee on Armed Services hearing on Thursday. US Senator Mike Rounds asked Haines about such a potential scenario. He also asked US Defense Intelligence Agency Director Lieutenant General Jeffrey Kruse
INSPIRING: Taiwan has been a model in the Asia-Pacific region with its democratic transition, free and fair elections and open society, the vice president-elect said Taiwan can play a leadership role in the Asia-Pacific region, vice president-elect Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) told a forum in Taipei yesterday, highlighting the nation’s resilience in the face of geopolitical challenges. “Not only can Taiwan help, but Taiwan can lead ... not only can Taiwan play a leadership role, but Taiwan’s leadership is important to the world,” Hsiao told the annual forum hosted by the Center for Asia-Pacific Resilience and Innovation think tank. Hsiao thanked Taiwan’s international friends for their long-term support, citing the example of US President Joe Biden last month signing into law a bill to provide aid to Taiwan,
China’s intrusive and territorial claims in the Indo-Pacific region are “illegal, coercive, aggressive and deceptive,” new US Indo-Pacific Commander Admiral Samuel Paparo said on Friday, adding that he would continue working with allies and partners to keep the area free and open. Paparo made the remarks at a change-of-command ceremony at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Hawaii, where he took over the command from Admiral John Aquilino. “Our world faces a complex problem set in the troubling actions of the People’s Republic of China [PRC] and its rapid buildup of forces. We must be ready to answer the PRC’s increasingly intrusive and
STATE OF THE NATION: The legislature should invite the president to deliver an address every year, the TPP said, adding that Lai should also have to answer legislators’ questions The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday proposed inviting president-elect William Lai (賴清德) to make a historic first state of the nation address at the legislature following his inauguration on May 20. Lai is expected to face many domestic and international challenges, and should clarify his intended policies with the public’s representatives, KMT caucus secretary-general Hung Meng-kai (洪孟楷) said when making the proposal at a meeting of the legislature’s Procedure Committee. The committee voted to add the item to the agenda for Friday, along with another similar proposal put forward by the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP). The invitation is in line with Article 15-2