LABOR
Google settles suit
Alphabet Inc’s Google has reached a settlement for an undisclosed amount with Chelsey Glasson, who said she faced discrimination by the search giant after she became pregnant. Glasson sued Google in 2020 after repeated efforts to report pregnancy discrimination were ignored, she said in October last year. She estimated that her legal fight would cost more than US$100,000 and take a heavy toll on her mental health. Glasson said that her experience at Google left her with insomnia, panic attacks and heart palpitations. Google did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Glasson confirmed the settlement, but did not provide details.
JAPAN
PM touts ‘new capitalism’
The benefits of growth should not belong to a limited group, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said yesterday, as he faced questions in parliament over policies that some say are negative for stock prices. “Capitalism isn’t sustainable unless it is something that belongs to all stakeholders,” Kishida said of his “new capitalism” policies. “From that point of view, it’s important to accept that the fruits of growth are flowing to shareholders and to think about that situation.” While the full details of Kishida’s economic policy program have yet to be unveiled, he has talked of a shift away from shareholder-focused capitalism and a bid to expand the middle classes.
REAL ESTATE
Colliers sees expansion
Colliers International Group Inc expects more real-estate investment trusts (REITs) to be formed in India’s nascent market following the robust performance of their listed peers in the country. “We expect a lot more REITs to happen over the next one year, given that all REITs have done well in spite of uncertainties,” Ramesh Nair, chief executive officer for the property consultancy firm’s Indian operations, said in an interview with Bloomberg Television. “Going forward, there would also be industrial and retail REITs, while office REITs will continue.”
LOGISTICS
GXO nears Clipper buyout
GXO Logistics Inc reached a preliminary agreement to buy Clipper Logistics PLC for about ￡943 million (US$1.29 billion) in a deal that would combine two global supply chain management giants. Greenwich, Connecticut-based GXO’s offer is valued at ￡9.20 per share for Clipper, with ￡6.90 in cash and the rest in new GXO shares, the companies said in a statement on Sunday. London-based Clipper said its board would unanimously recommend the offer to shareholders. Clipper handles logistics for many major European retailers including Asda Stores Ltd and ASOS PLC. GXO operates hundreds of warehouses globally.
METALS
Amplats plans payout
Anglo American Platinum Ltd (Amplats) is to pay out 80 billion rands (US$5.26 billion) in dividends after the world’s biggest platinum miner by market value reported bumper profit driven by surging metal prices and higher output, it said yesterday. The Johannesburg-based company’s dividend equates to 100 percent of headline earnings, it said in a statement. Amplats declared a second-half payout, including a special dividend, of 33 billion rands, or 125 rands per share, raising the full-year return to 80 billion rands. The payout beefs up the coffers of Anglo American PLC, which owns about 79 percent of Amplats — one of its most profitable units.
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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