■CHINA
Solar deal signed
Southern California’s eSolar Inc has signed a major agreement to build a series of solar power plants in China. Under the agreement announced on Friday, the Pasadena, California-based eSolar will provide China Shandong Penglai Electric Power Equipment Manufacturing Co with the technology and information to build solar farms with a capacity totaling 2,000 megawatts over the next decade. The initial eSolar project will be located in the Mongolian desert in northern China. The deal comes four months after Tempe, Arizona-based First Solar struck a deal with China to build a massive solar field in the same region.
■MEDIA
Canwest papers bankrupt
Canada’s insolvent media giant Canwest Global Communications has put its entire newspaper division under bankruptcy protection. The company said on Friday that it filed for creditor protection in an agreement with its lenders to help accelerate the company’s ongoing restructuring. Canwest says it has also arranged C$25 million (US$24 million) in financing from its senior lenders. Canwest owns major dailies such as the Montreal Gazette, Ottawa Citizen and Calgary Herald.
■ENERGY
Google makes electric bid
Internet search giant Google is seeking government authority to buy and sell electricity in the US, a further expansion of its operations aimed at boosting renewable energy. In a document filed last month with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Google indicated that its Google Energy unit asked for “market-based rate authority.” Under that authority, “Google Energy will engage in wholesale electric power and energy transactions as a marketer,” the filing said.
■INDIA
PepsiCo investment jumps
India’s government approved a plan by PepsiCo Inc to increase its investments in the country by almost a third over the next three years. PepsiCo will invest an additional US$200 million in its local unit, the government said yesterday in a statement, taking its total investments to US$655 million. The Purchase, New York-based company is putting additional resources into India, which ranks among its top 10 markets and three fastest-growing countries.
■SHIPPING
UPS to cut jobs
Shipping giant UPS Inc will cut 1,800 management and administrative jobs, less than 1 percent of its global work force, as it repositions itself for a gradual economic recovery. About 1,100 employees will be offered a voluntary separation package as part of the work force reduction, which is meant to streamline the company’s US small package segment. Other cuts will come through attrition and layoffs. UPS also raised its profit forecast for the fourth-quarter that ended last month, citing improving operations and cost cuts.
■ENERGY
GE patent claim rejected
A federal agency that oversees trade disputes has rejected General Electric Co’s (GE) claim that Mitsubishi violated GE patents to build wind turbines that the Japanese firm imports to the US. The US International Trade Commission decision, handed down on Friday without comment, reversed an administrative law judge’s ruling that Mitsubishi had violated the patents. The case comes as larger wind turbines are becoming more popular.
Merida Industry Co (美利達) has seen signs of recovery in the US and European markets this year, as customers are gradually depleting their inventories, the bicycle maker told shareholders yesterday. Given robust growth in new orders at its Taiwanese factory, coupled with its subsidiaries’ improving performance, Merida said it remains confident about the bicycle market’s prospects and expects steady growth in its core business this year. CAUTION ON CHINA However, the company must handle the Chinese market with great caution, as sales of road bikes there have declined significantly, affecting its revenue and profitability, Merida said in a statement, adding that it would
Greek tourism student Katerina quit within a month of starting work at a five-star hotel in Halkidiki, one of the country’s top destinations, because she said conditions were so dire. Beyond the bad pay, the 22-year-old said that her working and living conditions were “miserable and unacceptable.” Millions holiday in Greece every year, but its vital tourism industry is finding it harder and harder to recruit Greeks to look after them. “I was asked to work in any department of the hotel where there was a need, from service to cleaning,” said Katerina, a tourism and marketing student, who would
i Gasoline and diesel prices at fuel stations are this week to rise NT$0.1 per liter, as tensions in the Middle East pushed crude oil prices higher last week, CPC Corp, Taiwan (台灣中油) and Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) said yesterday. International crude oil prices last week rose for the third consecutive week due to an escalating conflict between Israel and Iran, as the market is concerned that the situation in the Middle East might affect crude oil supply, CPC and Formosa said in separate statements. Front-month Brent crude oil futures — the international oil benchmark — rose 3.75 percent to settle at US$77.01
RISING: Strong exports, and life insurance companies’ efforts to manage currency risks indicates the NT dollar would eventually pass the 29 level, an expert said The New Taiwan dollar yesterday rallied to its strongest in three years amid inflows to the nation’s stock market and broad-based weakness in the US dollar. Exporter sales of the US currency and a repatriation of funds from local asset managers also played a role, said two traders, who asked not to be identified as they were not authorized to speak publicly. State-owned banks were seen buying the greenback yesterday, but only at a moderate scale, the traders said. The local currency gained 0.77 percent, outperforming almost all of its Asian peers, to close at NT$29.165 per US dollar in Taipei trading yesterday. The
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