■ TAKEOVERS
Bid for Barneys goes up
Japanese casual clothing giant Fast Retailing has raised its bid for US retailer Barneys New York to US$950 million in cash, trumping an increased offer from Dubai investment firm Istithmar. The swift counter-offer from the Japanese group underscores its determi-nation to snare the celebrated New York retailer as it set its sights on becoming a global player in clothing retailing. "Barneys is a really attractive company to us. It's worth raising our bid," a spokesman for Fast Retailing said yesterday, confirming its latest offer. Barneys owner Jones Apparel Group said in a statement on Sunday its board had backed the increased Fast Retailing offer.
■ SEMICONDUCTORS
Infineon lowers stake
Infineon Technologies AG said yesterday it aims to lower its stake in Qimonda AG by less than 50 percent within two years. Infineon spun off Qimonda last year, listing it on the New York Stock Exchange, but retains an 86 percent stake in the company that makes chips for PCs. Investors have long urged that ties be cut, in part to avoid the vicissitudes of that cyclical industry. Last month, Infineon posted a wider third-quarter loss of 197 million euros (US$270 million) in part because of losses at Qimonda that totaled 218 million euros.
■ INVESTING
Warren Spector resigns
Senior executive Warren Spector announced his resignation from the investment banker Bear Stearns, shaken by troubles linked to the fraught US subprime mortgage market, the firm said on Sunday. "Warren J. Spector has resigned his positions of president and co-chief operating officer, member of the executive committee and member of the board of directors of Bear Stearns," chief executive James Cayne said in a statement. In giving up the co-presidency, Spector cedes the role to the other co-president, Alan Schwartz. Bear Stearns Asset Management suffered a disastrous blow last month when it announced that two hedge funds overseen by Spector were wiped out, losing up to US$1.6 billion of investors' capital.
■ CHINA
Protecting personal data
Beijing will soon introduce its first law on protecting personal data, amid rising anger at how easily people's private details are falling into the hands of advertisers, state media reported yesterday. Such a law has become necessary as more and more people find their personal information, such as mobile phone numbers, home addresses and even medical records, disclosed to unauthorized parties, the China Daily said. A draft law, which has been submitted to the Cabinet, sets out the legal duties of companies and other entities that have personal data, Zhou Hanhua, who helped draw-up the legislation, was quoted as saying.
■ AVIATION
JAL still in the red
Japan Airlines (JAL) said yesterday it remained in the red in the first quarter of the fiscal year but reduced its net loss by more than sixfold through layoffs, route cuts and a shift to smaller planes. Asia's largest carrier, which has been axing thousands of jobs, maintained its forecast for a return to profit this year after two straight annual losses that followed a series of safety scares. Net losses shrank to ¥4.29 billion (US$36.5 million) in the three months to June from ¥26.78 billion a year earlier, a JAL statement said.
UPDATED (3:40pm): A suspected gas explosion at a shopping mall in Taichung this morning has killed four people and injured 20 others, as emergency responders continue to investigate. The explosion occurred on the 12th floor of the Shin Kong Mitsukoshi in Situn District (西屯) at 11:33am. One person was declared dead at the scene, while three people were declared deceased later after receiving emergency treatment. Another 20 people sustained major or minor injuries. The Taichung Fire Bureau said it received a report of the explosion at 11:33am and sent rescuers to respond. The cause of the explosion is still under investigation, it said. The National Fire
ACCOUNTABILITY: The incident, which occured at a Shin Kong Mitsukoshi Department Store in Taichung, was allegedly caused by a gas explosion on the 12th floor Shin Kong Group (新光集團) president Richard Wu (吳昕陽) yesterday said the company would take responsibility for an apparent gas explosion that resulted in four deaths and 26 injuries at Shin Kong Mitsukoshi Zhonggang Store in Taichung yesterday. The Taichung Fire Bureau at 11:33am yesterday received a report saying that people were injured after an explosion at the department store on Section 3 of Taiwan Boulevard in Taichung’s Situn District (西屯). It sent 56 ambulances and 136 paramedics to the site, with the people injured sent to Cheng Ching Hospital’s Chung Kang Branch, Wuri Lin Shin Hospital, Taichung Veterans General Hospital or Chung
ALL-IN-ONE: A company in Tainan and another in New Taipei City offer tours to China during which Taiwanese can apply for a Chinese ID card, the source said The National Immigration Agency and national security authorities have identified at least five companies that help Taiwanese apply for Chinese identification cards while traveling in China, a source said yesterday. The issue has garnered attention in the past few months after YouTuber “Pa Chiung” (八炯) said that there are companies in Taiwan that help Taiwanese apply for Chinese documents. Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) last week said that three to five public relations firms in southern and northern Taiwan have allegedly assisted Taiwanese in applying for Chinese ID cards and were under investigation for potential contraventions of the Act Governing
‘LAWFUL USE’: The last time a US warship transited the Taiwan Strait was on Oct. 20 last year, and this week’s transit is the first of US President Donald Trump’s second term Two US military vessels transited the Taiwan Strait from Sunday through early yesterday, the Ministry of National Defense said in a statement, the first such mission since US President Donald Trump took office last month. The two vessels sailed south through the Strait, the ministry said, adding that it closely monitored nearby airspace and waters at the time and observed nothing unusual. The ministry did not name the two vessels, but the US Navy identified them as the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Ralph Johnson and the Pathfinder-class survey ship USNS Bowditch. The ships carried out a north-to-south transit from