■ ECONOMY
Brazilian GDP up 5.2%
Latin America's biggest economy grew more than 5 percent last year, boosted by high global demand for Brazilian ethanol, iron ore and agricultural products, as well as a booming domestic market, Brazilian Finance Minister Guido Mantega said on Friday. Mantega said GDP grew between 5.2 percent and 5.3 percent last year. The government reported expansion of 5.7 percent in the third quarter of last year, largely because of big gains in the agricultural and industrial sectors. Mantega said industrial output is expected to grow by more than the 6 percent posted last year.
■ AUTOMOBILES
Strike grinds on
The United Auto Workers and auto parts maker American Axle and Manufacturing Holdings Inc negotiated all day on Friday, trying to end an 11-day strike that has affected dozens of factories in the US and Canada. The bargaining came as General Motors Corp said parts shortages from the strike would force it to shut down part or all of 28 assembly and components factories. On Friday, GM added 17 components plants to the growing list and said on its Web site that the affected plants employ more than 37,000 hourly workers. All 17 additional plants are scheduled to go on partial shutdown starting tomorrow, the Detroit-based automaker said.
■ GLASS
Corning may ditch Steuben
Corning Inc, the biggest maker of glass for flat-panel displays, may sell or close its unprofitable Steuben Glass luxury crystal unit. Steuben, founded in 1903, has been losing money for "a few years," spokeswoman Kelli Hopp-Michlosky said yesterday in an e-mailed message. If Corning can't find a buyer, it will consider closing the business, which has about US$25 million in annual revenue and employs 150 people, she said. A sale would allow Corning to focus on its other businesses. Almost half of its sales come from liquid-crystal-display glass, where orders have surged as manufacturers switch to producing high-definition TV sets.
■ BEVERAGES
Carlsberg can buy brewer
EU competition regulators on Friday approved Danish brewer Carlsberg's purchase of some of the assets of British rival Scottish and Newcastle. Scottish and Newcastle in January accepted a £7.8 billion (US$15.5 billion) takeover bid by Carlsberg of Denmark and Heineken of the Netherlands. Under the deal, Carlsberg and Heineken are to split Scottish and Newcastle's assets between them. Carlsberg will take Scottish and Newcastle's half of their joint Russian venture Baltic Beverages Holding, which makes Russia's Baltika beer, and its Chinese, French, Greek and Vietnamese operations. Heineken, meanwhile, will take businesses in Belgium, Britain, Finland, India, Ireland, Portugal and the US.
■ STEEL
Workers poisoned
Workers at an Arcelor Mittal steelworks in Bosnia sought medical attention for nausea and vomiting after eating a special meal provided by the company to mark its "health and safety day" on Thursday. "Some 163 workers ... reported having stomach problems this morning. Ninety sought medical attention but only one was hospitalized," said Boba Lizdek, spokeswoman for the steel plant. In addition to a standard lunch, workers were given extra sweets and fruit juice. Meals provided by Arcelor Mittal are prepared by a local catering firm.
Intel Corp chief executive officer Lip-Bu Tan (陳立武) is expected to meet with Taiwanese suppliers next month in conjunction with the opening of the Computex Taipei trade show, supply chain sources said on Monday. The visit, the first for Tan to Taiwan since assuming his new post last month, would be aimed at enhancing Intel’s ties with suppliers in Taiwan as he attempts to help turn around the struggling US chipmaker, the sources said. Tan is to hold a banquet to celebrate Intel’s 40-year presence in Taiwan before Computex opens on May 20 and invite dozens of Taiwanese suppliers to exchange views
Application-specific integrated circuit designer Faraday Technology Corp (智原) yesterday said that although revenue this quarter would decline 30 percent from last quarter, it retained its full-year forecast of revenue growth of 100 percent. The company attributed the quarterly drop to a slowdown in customers’ production of chips using Faraday’s advanced packaging technology. The company is still confident about its revenue growth this year, given its strong “design-win” — or the projects it won to help customers design their chips, Faraday president Steve Wang (王國雍) told an online earnings conference. “The design-win this year is better than we expected. We believe we will win
Chizuko Kimura has become the first female sushi chef in the world to win a Michelin star, fulfilling a promise she made to her dying husband to continue his legacy. The 54-year-old Japanese chef regained the Michelin star her late husband, Shunei Kimura, won three years ago for their Sushi Shunei restaurant in Paris. For Shunei Kimura, the star was a dream come true. However, the joy was short-lived. He died from cancer just three months later in June 2022. He was 65. The following year, the restaurant in the heart of Montmartre lost its star rating. Chizuko Kimura insisted that the new star is still down
While China’s leaders use their economic and political might to fight US President Donald Trump’s trade war “to the end,” its army of social media soldiers are embarking on a more humorous campaign online. Trump’s tariff blitz has seen Washington and Beijing impose eye-watering duties on imports from the other, fanning a standoff between the economic superpowers that has sparked global recession fears and sent markets into a tailspin. Trump says his policy is a response to years of being “ripped off” by other countries and aims to bring manufacturing to the US, forcing companies to employ US workers. However, China’s online warriors
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