■ INDUSTRY
GE to close Brazil, US plants
General Electric Co said on Thursday it will close a number of lighting plants in Brazil and the US as part of a plan to restructure its consumer and industrial division, potentially cutting more than 1,400 jobs in the process. GE Consumer & Industrial said it will close all of its lighting operations in Rio de Janeiro, which will affect about 900 jobs. The company also plans to close some lighting factories in the US, which will affect about 425 jobs. "A portion'' of the US jobs will be transferred to other GE lighting facilities, the company added.
■ FINANCE
Minister to promote Paris
French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde said in an interview published yesterday that she wants to promote Paris as a financial services hub. Speaking to the Financial Times in Paris, Lagarde said the strength and security of France's regulatory regime was a plus for the French capital, but noted that she did not want to knock London off its perch as Europe's financial center. "One shouldn't rejoice in the misfortunes of others," she told the business daily, referring to recent troubles in London's markets as a result of a global credit squeeze and the panic that followed the news that Britain's fifth-biggest mortgage lender applied to the Bank of England for an emergency loan.
■ INTERNET
Yahoo targets scammers
Yahoo announced on Thursday it will start thwarting scammers that send bogus eBay or PayPal account e-mails to trick people into revealing passwords and credit card numbers. Yahoo said it collaborated with eBay, which owns online financial transactions service PayPal, to devise a way to block the fake messages from the US Internet firm's free e-mail accounts. The scam, referred to as "phishing" because it relies on hooking victims with deceptive e-mail messages, is a perpetual online bane. The messages typically purport to be from PayPal or eBay and claim the recipients' accounts with the services will be cancelled if they don't validate password, credit card or other sensitive information.
■ E-COMMERCE
Alibaba.com wins approval
Alibaba.com, China's largest e-commerce company, has won approval from the Hong Kong Stock Exchange for a long-anticipated IPO expected to be worth roughly US$1 billion, sources familiar with the deal said. Alibaba Group, which is partly owned by Yahoo Inc, plans to list its business-to-business operation, Alibaba.com, but does not plan to make its other units part of the initial public offering, one source said. Jack Ma founded Alibaba in 1999 with 18 employees as an online business-to-business marketplace. Now, Alibaba.com provides a platform for small and medium-sized buyers and suppliers from China and overseas for international and domestic online trading and employs 4,400 full-time staff.
■ JAPAN
Firms announce alliance
Japan Post Holdings Co and delivery company Nippon Express Co said yesterday they have agreed to form a comprehensive business alliance. The two companies will integrate their domestic parcel delivery operations beginning next October, they said in a joint statement. The move is expected to help boost their competitiveness against industry leaders Yamato Transport Co and Sagawa Express Co.
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
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
CELEBRATION: The PRC turned 75 on Oct. 1, but the Republic of China is older. The PRC could never be the homeland of the people of the ROC, Lai said The People’s Republic of China (PRC) could not be the “motherland” of the people of the Republic of China (ROC), President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday. Lai made the remarks in a speech at a Double Ten National Day gala in Taipei, which is part of National Day celebrations that are to culminate in a fireworks display in Yunlin County on Thursday night next week. Lai wished the country a happy birthday and called on attendees to enjoy the performances and activities while keeping in mind that the ROC is a sovereign and independent nation. He appealed for everyone to always love their
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