■ Bank of America
Japanese workers fired
Bank of America Corp, the third-largest US bank, fired half of its employees in Japan, where it has operated for 53 years, saying business won't recover soon in an economy that had three recessions in the past decade. The cuts will leave Bank of America with 110 people in Tokyo and 2,000 in Asia, spokeswoman Susan Beard said. There are no job cuts planned outside Japan, she said. Bank of America eliminated 8,726 jobs last year and wants to reduce expenses by US$1 billion a year because the stalled US economy is eroding demand for loans and stock and bond sales. Securities firms operating in Japan cut 7,400 jobs last year, retreating from a stock market that lost three-quarters of its value since 1990. "Some foreign firms are finding it impossible to endure the war of attrition," said Tsuyoshi Segawa, an equity strategist at Shinko Securities Co.
■ Phone chips
Intel combines features
Intel Corp, the world's biggest maker of computer chips, plans to start shipping a cellphone chip that combines computing, memory and signal functions, a first Intel hopes will capture sales. Selling a single semiconductor that does the work of three will allow a cell phone to be smaller, have a longer battery life and be less expensive, said Dennis Sheehan, director of marketing in Intel's wireless computing group. Intel builds the PXA800F chip using a single factory process, a step that allows the product to be built in mass quantities for lower costs, he said. Intel is trying to take sales from Texas Instruments Inc, the biggest maker of chips to power mobile phones, as demand for personal computers slows. Texas Instruments is working on its own multifunction chip, which it expects to start shipping before the end of next year, said Alain Mutricy, a vice president of the company.
■ News Corp
Results beat expectations
News Corp reported second-quarter results slightly ahead of expectations Wednesday, as gains in its film entertainment and cable networks businesses offset mixed results in its television and newspaper divisions and continuing losses related to its Gemstar investment. In a conference call, executives said that while they are still interested in acquiring a US satellite provider, they will not be drawn into a prolonged battle. For the three months ending Dec. 31, the media conglomerate earned US$239 million, or 24 cents per US share, compared with a loss of US$606 million, or US$0.50 per share, at the same time in 2001 when results were hurt by a US$909 million write-down of the company's sports contracts. Year-to-date, the media conglomerate has earned US$401 million, or US$0.36 per US share, up from a loss of US$533 million, or US$0.45 per share.
■ Flat screens
Pioneer to delay production
Pioneer Corp, Japan's largest maker of car navigation systems, expects to delay for a year the mass production of new flat-screen displays initially targeted for smaller products such as mobile phones. Pioneer planned to begin mass producing the screens last year, with monthly production capacity of 500,000 panels, Executive Vice President Katsuhiro Abe said in an interview. It is currently making samples at subsidiary Tohoku Pioneer Corp.
SLOW-MOVING STORM: The typhoon has started moving north, but at a very slow pace, adding uncertainty to the extent of its impact on the nation Work and classes have been canceled across the nation today because of Typhoon Krathon, with residents in the south advised to brace for winds that could reach force 17 on the Beaufort scale as the Central Weather Administration (CWA) forecast that the storm would make landfall there. Force 17 wind with speeds of 56.1 to 61.2 meters per second, the highest number on the Beaufort scale, rarely occur and could cause serious damage. Krathon could be the second typhoon to land in southwestern Taiwan, following typhoon Elsie in 1996, CWA records showed. As of 8pm yesterday, the typhoon’s center was 180km
TYPHOON DAY: Taitung, Pingtung, Tainan, Chiayi, Hualien and Kaohsiung canceled work and classes today. The storm is to start moving north this afternoon The outer rim of Typhoon Krathon made landfall in Taitung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春半島) at about noon yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, adding that the eye of the storm was expected to hit land tomorrow. The CWA at 2:30pm yesterday issued a land alert for Krathon after issuing a sea alert on Sunday. It also expanded the scope of the sea alert to include waters north of Taiwan Strait, in addition to its south, from the Bashi Channel to the Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島). As of 6pm yesterday, the typhoon’s center was 160km south of
STILL DANGEROUS: The typhoon was expected to weaken, but it would still maintain its structure, with high winds and heavy rain, the weather agency said One person had died amid heavy winds and rain brought by Typhoon Krathon, while 70 were injured and two people were unaccounted for, the Central Emergency Operation Center said yesterday, while work and classes have been canceled nationwide today for the second day. The Hualien County Fire Department said that a man in his 70s had fallen to his death at about 11am on Tuesday while trimming a tree at his home in Shoufeng Township (壽豐). Meanwhile, the Yunlin County Fire Department received a report of a person falling into the sea at about 1pm on Tuesday, but had to suspend search-and-rescue
RULES BROKEN: The MAC warned Chinese not to say anything that would be harmful to the autonomous status of Taiwan or undermine its sovereignty A Chinese couple accused of disrupting a pro-democracy event in Taipei organized by Hong Kong residents has been deported, the National Immigration Agency said in a statement yesterday afternoon. A Chinese man, surnamed Yao (姚), and his wife were escorted by immigration officials to Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, where they boarded a flight to China before noon yesterday, the agency said. The agency said that it had annulled the couple’s entry permits, citing alleged contraventions of the Regulations Governing the Approval of Entry of People of the Mainland Area into the Taiwan Area (大陸地區人民進入台灣地區許可辦法). The couple applied to visit a family member in
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