AUTOMAKERS
Nissan recalls SUVs in US
Nissan says it is recalling more than 1,800 Infiniti SUVs in the US for an air bag problem that could send shrapnel into the passenger compartment. The recall covers some QX56 SUVs from last year and the QX80s from this year. The company says inflators made by troubled parts supplier Takata Corp were built with an incorrect outer baffle part. That can cause pressure to build up and the inflators can rupture if the driver’s side air bags are deployed. The latest air bag problem, according to Takata, affects only GM and Nissan vehicles, and it is separate from previous recalls covering 8 million vehicles in the US.
AUTOMAKERS
Ferrari fined US$3.5m
Ferrari SpA’s US$3.5 million fine by the US government is the largest ever imposed on an automaker for failing to quickly report customer complaints, injuries and alleged defects to regulators. Among the violations were three fatalities that were never logged with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA): A 2009 crash in California of a F430 Spider, a 2006 accident in Germany in a F430F1, and a 2005 Illinois crash involving a 360 Spider, according to information provided yesterday by NHTSA. The agency also said Ferrari has not submitted since 2011 the early warning reports required by the US government to track the frequency and severity of vehicle safety issues.
NUTRITION
Herbalife settles lawsuit
Herbalife Ltd says it has agreed to settle a lawsuit that claimed the company’s business structure and marketing practices violated federal and state laws. The weight loss and nutritional supplements company did not elaborate in its statement on Friday on the terms of the proposed settlement in the class-action case. The lawsuit was filed in April last year in a California federal court by a former salesman. Herbalife said it has not done anything wrong and that the lawsuit is without merit. It said it is seeking to settle the case in the hope of avoiding the potential cost of prolonged litigation.
INSURANCE
AIG pays out NY settlement
Insurance company American International Group Inc (AIG) has agreed to pay New York state US$35 million to settle claims that two former subsidiaries did business without licenses and misled regulators about their operations in the state. The deal was announced on Friday by the state’s Department of Financial Services. It comes after a US$60 million settlement in March with MetLife, which purchased the subsidiaries from AIG. Authorities had alleged that subsidiaries American Life Insurance Co and Delaware American Life Insurance Co sought customers in New York without licenses and without telling regulators.
RETAIL
Dollar General extends bid
Discount retail chain Dollar General extended its nearly US$10 billion hostile bid for rival Family Dollar on Friday in hopes that Family Dollar’s shareholders would vote down its planned merger with another firm. Dollar General said the US$80-a-share offer it made at the beginning of September would remain alive until the end of the year, enough to span Family Dollar’s Dec. 11 special shareholders meeting, called to vote on selling the company to smaller rival Dollar Tree.
To many, Tatu City on the outskirts of Nairobi looks like a success. The first city entirely built by a private company to be operational in east Africa, with about 25,000 people living and working there, it accounts for about two-thirds of all foreign investment in Kenya. Its low-tax status has attracted more than 100 businesses including Heineken, coffee brand Dormans, and the biggest call-center and cold-chain transport firms in the region. However, to some local politicians, Tatu City has looked more like a target for extortion. A parade of governors have demanded land worth millions of dollars in exchange
An Indonesian animated movie is smashing regional box office records and could be set for wider success as it prepares to open beyond the Southeast Asian archipelago’s silver screens. Jumbo — a film based on the adventures of main character, Don, a large orphaned Indonesian boy facing bullying at school — last month became the highest-grossing Southeast Asian animated film, raking in more than US$8 million. Released at the end of March to coincide with the Eid holidays after the Islamic fasting month of Ramadan, the movie has hit 8 million ticket sales, the third-highest in Indonesian cinema history, Film
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s (TSMC, 台積電) revenue jumped 48 percent last month, underscoring how electronics firms scrambled to acquire essential components before global tariffs took effect. The main chipmaker for Apple Inc and Nvidia Corp reported monthly sales of NT$349.6 billion (US$11.6 billion). That compares with the average analysts’ estimate for a 38 percent rise in second-quarter revenue. US President Donald Trump’s trade war is prompting economists to retool GDP forecasts worldwide, casting doubt over the outlook for everything from iPhone demand to computing and datacenter construction. However, TSMC — a barometer for global tech spending given its central role in the
Alchip Technologies Ltd (世芯), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) designer specializing in server chips, expects revenue to decline this year due to sagging demand for 5-nanometer artificial intelligence (AI) chips from a North America-based major customer, a company executive said yesterday. That would be the first contraction in revenue for Alchip as it has been enjoying strong revenue growth over the past few years, benefiting from cloud-service providers’ moves to reduce dependence on Nvidia Corp’s expensive AI chips by building their own AI accelerator by outsourcing chip design. The 5-nanometer chip was supposed to be a new growth engine as the lifecycle
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