Sun, Dec 02, 2007 page11

• Business Quick Take

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  ■ AUTOMOBILES

  GM's former CEO dies

  Roger Smith, who led General Motors Corp (GM) in the 1980s and was the subject of Michael Moore's searing documentary Roger & Me, has died, the automaker said on Friday. He was 82. Smith died on Thursday in the Detroit area after a brief illness that GM did not identify. He was appointed chairman and CEO on Jan. 1, 1981, and led the world's largest automaker until his retirement on July 31, 1990. With Japanese automakers gaining momentum in the US as Smith's tenure began, he responded with GM's first front-wheel-drive midsize cars and formed a controversial joint venture with Toyota Motor Corp to manufacture cars in California. "[Smith] was a leader who knew that we have to accept change, understand change and learn to make it work for us," current GM CEO Rick Wagoner said in a statement.

  ■ AEROSPACE

  Le Gall warns on dumping

  The head of the European satellite launch group Arianespace, Jean-Yves Le Gall, warned the US on Friday against Chinese "dumping" in the market and suggested Washington should improve its ovesight. "Today, we see China has re-entered the market for commercial launches, using so-called `ITAR-Free' satellites designed and built without US technology," Le Gall told a space industry luncheon in Washington. "Coupled with cut-rate launch prices, China is working to flood the market with such satellites and I really think Europe and the US must rise together to address these issues which are very, very important," he said.

  ■ CHINA

  Manufacturing expands

  Manufacturing expanded at a faster pace last month, a government survey of purchasing managers released yesterday showed. The purchasing managers' index (PMI) rose to 55.4 from 53.2 in October, the statistics bureau said in an e-mailed statement. A reading above 50 indicates expansion. Of 20 industries surveyed, 19 of them, including clothing producers, transportation equipment manufacturers and energy processors, recorded a PMI of more than 50,the report said. The accelerating PMI reflected "China's rising investment in recent months," a researcher at the State Council Development and Research Center in Beijing said.

  ■ PHARMACEUTICAL

  FDA clears antidepressant

  The US Food and Drug Administration has approved long-term use of the antidepressant Cymbalta to help patients avoid a relapse into depression, Eli Lilly and Co said on Friday. Cymbalta, one of Lilly's biggest-selling drugs, was first approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 2004 to treat serious depression. The new FDA approval supports its use for "maintenance treatment" in adults. Lilly reported that Cymbalta had sales of US$1.3 billion last year, making it the company's fastest-growing drug.

  ■ COMPUTERS

  Investors dump Dell stock

  Shares of Dell Inc fell nearly 13 percent on Friday as investors took a pessimistic view on plans to re-ignite the computer maker's fortunes with a strategy that could lower profits in the short term. In Dell's first earnings conference call in more than a year, chief financial officer Don Carty told analysts that restructuring costs would cut into profits as the company seeks more acquisitions and layoffs and that a slower decline in component costs could also have an impact on its bottom line.
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