■ finance
Morgan Stanley cutting jobs
Morgan Stanley said on Wednesday it would cut 1,000 jobs as the second-largest US investment bank trims its residential mortgage operations amid the continued deterioration of the mortgage markets. The firm said it would shutter its UK business that issues home loans and significantly scale back its mortgage business in the US. "Given the continued dislocation in the mortgage markets, we have restructured our residential mortgage business to ensure we are appropriately positioned for the environment going forward," Anthony Meola, chief operating officer of the US residential business, said in a statement.
■ electronics
Prosecutors raid Samsung
Special prosecutors raided Samsung Electronics Co, a company official said yesterday, as part of a widening investigation into a slush fund scandal at the conglomerate. Two officials from a special investigation team came to the headquarters of Samsung Electronics in Suwon, 45km south of Seoul, said James Chung, a spokesman for Samsung Electronics. He did not elaborate. The probe started last month after Kim Yong-chul, a former top legal affairs official at Samsung, alleged that the company created a 200 billion won (US$211 million) slush fund to bribe government officials, judges and prosecutors and purchase works of art.
■ oil
Prices up on low US stock
World oil prices were higher in Asian trade yesterday after US crude inventories climbed at a slower-than-expected pace last week, dealers said. A dispute that resulted in Venezuela cutting oil supplies to US energy giant ExxonMobil continued to spook the market, they said. In early afternoon trade, New York's main contract, light sweet crude for delivery next month was up US$0.09 to US$93.36 a barrel after closing up US$0.49 at US$93.27 during floor trading on Wednesday at the New York Mercantile Exchange. The US Department of Energy said on Wednesday that crude stockpiles rose 1.1 million barrels to 301.1 million in the week ended Feb. 8, smaller than the gain of 2.38 million barrels forecast by analysts.
■ real estate
California home sales fall
Home sales in a six-county region of southern California plunged last month to the slowest pace for any month in more than 20 years, the latest sign would-be buyers remain reluctant to enter a housing market still mired in a steep slump and hobbled by mortgage lending constraints. A total of 9,983 homes were sold in Los Angeles, Orange, San Diego, Riverside, San Bernardino and Ventura counties last month, a drop of nearly 50 percent from the same month last year and nearly 25 percent from December, DataQuick Information Systems said on Wednesday. Median home prices fell in all the counties, driving down the region's median price to US$415,000 -- the lowest since January 2005, it said.
■ banking
SocGen acquires Rosbank
French bank Societe Generale (SocGen) said on Wednesday it had finalized its acquisition of a majority stake in the Russian retail bank Rosbank. SocGen -- reeling from a massive trading scandal it said cost it nearly 5 billion euros (US$7 billion) -- said in a statement it now holds 50 percent plus one share in Rosbank. The acquisition makes SocGen one of Russia's leading banks, the statement said.
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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