■ STEEL
ThyssenKrupp cuts jobs
ThyssenKrupp plans to shed more than 3,000 jobs, a press report said yesterday, the first time a German industrial group would eliminate permanent posts as a result of the country’s recession. ThyssenKrupp, a steel maker and manufacturer of industrial goods, would cut 1.5 percent of its workforce as it struggles with falling demand for its products, the Financial Times said, without identifying its sources. The group’s steel, automotive and ship building divisions would be affected by the cuts, the newspaper said. Until now, German groups have reduced workers’ hours or eliminated temporary posts in an attempt to weather the country’s worst recession since the 1930s. In January, the heads of 30 leading German companies told German Chancellor Angela Merkel they would not resort to compulsory layoffs, the report said.
■ AUTOMOBILES
Fiat may take Chrysler debt
Chrysler LLC’s chief executive said on Thursday that if its proposed alliance with automaker Fiat SpA goes through, the Italian automaker would be responsible for 35 percent of Chrysler’s debt to the US government. Chrysler is living off US$4 billion in US government loans and is seeking an additional US$5 billion. CEO Bob Nardelli said in a video posted on Thursday on Chrysler’s Web site that the company could be viable on its own, but he said a deal with Fiat would enhance that viability. Fiat is discussing trading its small-car technology for a 35 percent stake in Chrysler.
■ ENERGY
Total to refine in China
French energy giant Total, spurred by more attractive pricing rules, is planning to set up new refining and petrochemicals projects in China, state media reported yesterday. Total wants to take advantage of a new system in China allowing competitive pricing and an appropriate profit margin for oil refiners, the China Daily reported, citing Total China chairman Jacques de Boisseson. Total currently operates one refinery in northeastern China and has no petrochemicals plant there. It has recently set up a venture with PetroChina in the South Sulige block in the Inner Mongolia region.
■ RETAIL
Wal-Mart pays out US$2bn
Wal-Mart Stores Inc has announced it has paid US$2 billion this year to its US employees in bonuses, merchandise discounts and retirement contributions. The world’s largest retailer said on Thursday that US$934 million of the money went toward bonuses, averaging US$666 for each of the company’s 1.4 million domestic workers. Wal-Mart chief executive officer Mike Duke said US$789 million was paid in profit-sharing and retirement contributions and the remainder went to the employee stock purchase plan and merchandise discounts for workers. In a letter, Duke congratulated employees for Wal-Mart’s recent successes in an economic environment that has its competitors struggling.
■ ELECTRONICS
Pre needs polishing: Palm
Palm Inc on Thursday said its upcoming Pre phone needed “more polishing” but that it was on track to start selling the high profit device in the first half of the year as it looks to grab back smartphone business from rivals. The company gave the update while it reported a wider loss and revenue that fell 70 percent from a year ago, in line with its recent warning for a weak fiscal third quarter.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique