■ TAKEOVERS
United Test buyout likely
Private equity firms TPG Capital LLP and Affinity Equity Partners are likely to succeed in their S$2.2 billion (US$1.5 billion) bid for Singapore chip tester United Test and Assembly Center Lt (UTAC), a media report said yesterday. Shareholders who had previously opposed the deal have recently indicated their approval through proxy votes to be counted after a shareholder meeting today when the deal will be considered, Dow Jones Newswires reported.
■ INTERNET
Google not in clear yet
Australia's consumer watchdog yesterday agreed to drop legal action against two Google subsidiaries, but vowed to pursue the Internet giant's parent company for allegedly misleading Web users. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) launched a legal action alleging that Google Inc, Google Australia, Google Ireland and the magazine Trading Post misled Web users by misidentifying sponsored links. The regulator agreed in the Federal Court in Sydney yesterday to drop Google's Irish and Australian subsiduaries from the action. The ACCC alleges Google failed to distinguish between paid advertisements and "organic" results generated by the search engine.
■ Banking
Bank to merge subsidiaries
US investment bank Bear Stearns said on Wednesday it was merging two mortgage subsidiaries and cutting 310 jobs to better deal with market conditions related to the ailing housing sector. In the year to date, Bear Stearns has slashed its workforce in mortgage businesses by 40 percent in moves to weather a broader credit crunch stemming from a crisis in the subprime mortgage sector. Bear Stearns said the merger of Bear Stearns Residential Mortgage and Encore Credit into a single unit "will allow the firm to right-size the business to current market conditions and increase efficiency."
■ Computing
EU starts IBM probe
The European Commission on Wednesday announced an in-depth probe into US computer giant IBM's proposed takeover of Swedish software firm Telelogic, fearing it could harm competition in the software sector. "Both IBM and Telelogic are active in the market for software development tools," the Commission, the EU's competition regulator, said in a statement. Preliminary investigations found that the proposed US$745 million takeover bid raises "serious doubts ... given the strong market position that IBM would achieve for certain types of software development tools, in particular so-called `software modelling and requirements management' tools," the EU's executive arm said.
■ Telecoms
Firms link up for Linux
ARM Holdings, Texas Instruments, Samsung Electronics and four other companies will work together to develop Linux-based software that makes it easier for mobile phones to access the Internet. The programs will be given to developers and used by makers of phones and electronics based on ARM processors, ARM said yesterday in a statement. The companies will use the Linux operating system and other open-source technology to create the software for developers, letting programmers bring video, graphics and Internet features to large-screen mobile devices.
Agencies";
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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