CONSTRUCTION
AECOM buying URS
US infrastructure and services group AECOM is buying engineering firm URS Corp for about US$6 billion including debt, creating an industry leader, the companies said in a joint statement on Sunday.Los Angeles-based AECOM offered URS US$56.31 per share, or about US$4 billion for the San Francisco company, in addition to US$2 billion in its debts, the companies said. The merged company will have a presence in 150 countries and about 95,000 employees, the statement said. It would have calendar-year pro forma sales for last year topping US$19 billion.
PHARMACEUTICALS
Shire backs AbbVie bid
London-listed pharmaceutical company Shire PLC said yesterday it was ready to recommend a new ￡31 billion (US$53 billion) takeover offer from AbbVie, entering talks after receiving a fifth bid from the US firm. Chicago-based AbbVie, which wants to buy Shire in order to cut its tax bill and diversify its products, made the offer of ￡53.20 per share on Sunday following a request from the Dublin-based group for an improvement on the previous offer of ￡51.15 per share.
AUTOMAKERS
Strike shutters Ford plant
Ford Motor Co said yesterday it has temporarily suspended production at one of its South African plants due to a strike at some of its suppliers. Members of the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa downed tools in the engineering and steel sector on July 1, demanding 12 to 15 percent annual wage increases from employers. Only Ford’s Pretoria plant was affected and its other plant in Port Elizabeth was operating normally, a Ford spokeswoman said.
RETAIL
David Jones backs takeover
Shareholders in Australia’s oldest department store, David Jones, yesterday approved an A$2.1 billion (US$1.98 billion) takeover of the upmarket chain by South African retail giant Woolworths Holdings. The David Jones board had unanimously backed the Woolworths proposal, and the A$4 a share offer was overwhelmingly supported by shareholders, winning close to 90 percent approval. Woolworths hopes its acquisition will allow it to become one of the 10 largest department store operators in the world.
CONFECTIONERY
Lindt to buy Russel Stover
Swiss chocolate maker Lindt & Spruengli says it is buying US manufacturer Russell Stover Candies Inc, for an undisclosed sum. Lindt CEO Ernst Tanner said yesterday that the purchase provides “a unique opportunity for us to expand our North American chocolate business.” The company says the deal will make it the No. 3 chocolate manufacturer in North America. Russell Stover, which also owns the Whitman’s brand, is based in Kansas City, Missouri, and has four factories — in Kansas, Texas and Colorado. It has about 2,700 employees and annual sales of around US$500 million.
AUTOMAKERS
China backs electric cars
At least 30 percent of newly purchased government cars are set to be electric or other types of “new energy vehicles,” Xinhua news agency reported on Sunday, as the country attempts to tackle air pollution and encourage the electric car market. A joint plan from five government ministries and departments calls for about a third of cars bought for state use from this year to 2016 to rely on clean energy, and the percentage will be raised year by year after that, the report said.
DIVIDED VIEWS: Although the Fed agreed on holding rates steady, some officials see no rate cuts for this year, while 10 policymakers foresee two or more cuts There are a lot of unknowns about the outlook for the economy and interest rates, but US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell signaled at least one thing seems certain: Higher prices are coming. Fed policymakers voted unanimously to hold interest rates steady at a range of 4.25 percent to 4.50 percent for a fourth straight meeting on Wednesday, as they await clarity on whether tariffs would leave a one-time or more lasting mark on inflation. Powell said it is still unclear how much of the bill would fall on the shoulders of consumers, but he expects to learn more about tariffs
Meta Platforms Inc offered US$100 million bonuses to OpenAI employees in an unsuccessful bid to poach the ChatGPT maker’s talent and strengthen its own generative artificial intelligence (AI) teams, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has said. Facebook’s parent company — a competitor of OpenAI — also offered “giant” annual salaries exceeding US$100 million to OpenAI staffers, Altman said in an interview on the Uncapped with Jack Altman podcast released on Tuesday. “It is crazy,” Sam Altman told his brother Jack in the interview. “I’m really happy that at least so far none of our best people have decided to take them
PLANS: MSI is also planning to upgrade its service center in the Netherlands Micro-Star International Co (MSI, 微星) yesterday said it plans to set up a server assembly line at its Poland service center this year at the earliest. The computer and peripherals manufacturer expects that the new server assembly line would shorten transportation times in shipments to European countries, a company spokesperson told the Taipei Times by telephone. MSI manufactures motherboards, graphics cards, notebook computers, servers, optical storage devices and communication devices. The company operates plants in Taiwan and China, and runs a global network of service centers. The company is also considering upgrading its service center in the Netherlands into a
NOT JUSTIFIED: The bank’s governor said there would only be a rate cut if inflation falls below 1.5% and economic conditions deteriorate, which have not been detected The central bank yesterday kept its key interest rates unchanged for a fifth consecutive quarter, aligning with market expectations, while slightly lowering its inflation outlook amid signs of cooling price pressures. The move came after the US Federal Reserve held rates steady overnight, despite pressure from US President Donald Trump to cut borrowing costs. Central bank board members unanimously voted to maintain the discount rate at 2 percent, the secured loan rate at 2.375 percent and the overnight lending rate at 4.25 percent. “We consider the policy decision appropriate, although it suggests tightening leaning after factoring in slackening inflation and stable GDP growth,”
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