■RESOURCES
Aluminum plants may close
Venezuela may close its nationalized aluminum and steel industries in a battle to save energy during a prolonged drought, the electricity minister said in comments published on Monday. “If we have to close the industries in Guayana [in southern Venezuela] because Guri [reservoir] has dried out, we’ll have to do it,” Angel Rodriguez told daily El Mundo. The minister also proposed closing government ministries or changing their hours to reduce energy consumption.
■BANKS
Two regional banks merge
Two more regional Spanish savings banks, Caja Duero and Caja Espana, agreed to merge on Monday, Spanish news reports said, as the pace of consolidation in the sector speeds up amid the country’s recession. The two banks, both based in the northern region of Castilla y Leon, reached the deal late on Monday after months of negotiations. Spanish newspapers said the merger would be ratified by the boards of directors yesterday morning.
■FINANCE
Resorts sue Credit Suisse
Property owners at four struggling and bankrupt resorts in Idaho, Montana, Nevada and the Bahamas have filed a US$24 billion federal lawsuit against Credit Suisse, saying the bank gave predatory loans to the resorts’ investors as part of a scheme to take over the properties. The property owners say Credit Suisse set up a branch in the Cayman Islands to skirt US federal banking regulations and appraised the resorts at artificially inflated values as part of a plan to foreclose.
■MEDIA
‘WSJ’ combined with wires
Dow Jones & Co is dismantling the divisions separating its flagship newspaper, the Wall Street Journal, from the investment tools and other services aimed at a narrower business audience. The change announced on Monday combines Dow Jones’ consumer media group, a segment that included the Journal and Barron’s, with its enterprise media group, which includes the Dow Jones Newswires, the Dow Jones stock indexes and the business research service Factiva. Dow Jones, owned by News Corp, thinks the overhaul will enable it to identify and respond to customer needs more quickly.
■COMPUTERS
Apple to unveil tablet PC
Apple Inc plans to unveil a long-awaited tablet computer this month that may begin to ship in March, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday. Citing “people briefed by the company,” the newspaper said the color screen tablet is expected to be a multimedia device that will let people watch movies and TV shows, play games, surf the Web and read electronic books and newspapers. The Journal said the device, which has been the subject of speculation for years, will come with a 10 to 11-inch touchscreen.
■CONGLOMERATES
Kumho Asiana trims staff
South Korea’s debt-laden Kumho Asiana Group said yesterday it would axe executives, force staff to take unpaid leave and sell off a range of assets under its restructuring plan. The country’s eighth-biggest conglomerate said it plans to raise 1.3 trillion won (US$1.1 billion) by offloading assets at home and abroad, including in Vietnam and Hong Kong. Kumho Asiana also said in a statement it would cut the number of its executives by 20 percent and order all office workers to take a month-long unpaid leave to save costs.
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
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
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