■RETAIL
Tesco profits jump 11%
Britain’s biggest retailer, Tesco, said yesterday its net profit jumped by almost 11 percent during the group’s first half to more than £1 billion (US$1.8 billion) as it beat off economic woes. Tesco said in an earnings statement that profit after tax increased 10.9 percent to £1.038 billion in the six months to Aug. 23, compared with the same period last year. The supermarket giant also said it was on track to create 30,000 jobs this year.
■INSURANCE
Alico gets fund boost
A Japanese insurer that is a unit of troubled American International Group Inc (AIG) has received ¥90.7 billion (US$872 million) in additional funds to bolster its financial strength, the company said yesterday. Alico Japan said it received the money on Monday from its US parent, American Life Insurance Co, which is part of the AIG group, after the plunge in the price of AIG shares. As a result, Alico Japan’s capital base stands at ¥328.2 billion, it said in a statement. Alico Japan has been reassuring its clients that there will be no problems with their insurance policies.
■AUTOMOBILES
Toyota adds rear airbag
Toyota has developed a rear window air bag to upgrade protection for back-seat passengers, the company said yesterday. In the event of a rear-end collision, the air bag is ejected from the roof lining above the rear window and spreads like a curtain to protect the heads of the rear passengers, Toyota Motor Corp said in a statement. Toyota said the rear window curtain-shield air bag is the world’s first. The new safety gear will debut in the “iQ” compact four-seater vehicle, to be introduced later this year, Toyota said.
■TOYS
Bratz dolls annoy Mattel
Barbie-maker Mattel Inc filed court papers asking a federal judge to block MGA Entertainment Inc from making or selling Bratz dolls. Attorneys for Mattel filed the papers on Monday in Riverside, California, just over a month after a jury awarded the company US$100 million in damages in the fight over the pouty-lipped dolls. Judge Stephen Larson will hear arguments on the injunction request on Nov. 10.
■AVIATION
Boeing deliveries delayed
Boeing Co said yesterday it would reassess its 787 Dreamliner delivery schedule for the Japanese market once an ongoing strike ends, raising concern that a prolonged production halt could further push back deliveries. Japan’s two biggest airlines — Japan Airlines Corp and All Nippon Airways — have already announced expected delays in receiving the 787 jets because of a strike by Boeing machinists that came on top of an 18-month delay in the shipment of the planes. “Frankly, we do not know when the strike will end,” Randy Tinseth, vice president of Boeing’s Commercial Airplanes division, said in Tokyo.
■AUTOMOBILES
Volvo cuts 1,400 jobs
Volvo, one of the world’s top heavy duty truck makers, said yesterday it would cut 1,400 jobs in Belgium and Sweden because of declining demand for its trucks in Europe. “The company will initiate negotiations with the unions regarding staffing level cutbacks of approximately 1,400 employees at the company’s plant in Ghent in Belgium and Gothenburg and Umeaa in Sweden,” Volvo Trucks said in a statement.
ENDEAVOR MANTA: The ship is programmed to automatically return to its designated home port and would self-destruct if seized by another party The Endeavor Manta, Taiwan’s first military-specification uncrewed surface vehicle (USV) tailor-made to operate in the Taiwan Strait in a bid to bolster the nation’s asymmetric combat capabilities made its first appearance at Kaohsiung’s Singda Harbor yesterday. Taking inspiration from Ukraine’s navy, which is using USVs to force Russia’s Black Sea fleet to take shelter within its own ports, CSBC Taiwan (台灣國際造船) established a research and development unit on USVs last year, CSBC chairman Huang Cheng-hung (黃正弘) said. With the exception of the satellite guidance system and the outboard motors — which were purchased from foreign companies that were not affiliated with Chinese-funded
PERMIT REVOKED: The influencer at a news conference said the National Immigration Agency was infringing on human rights and persecuting Chinese spouses Chinese influencer “Yaya in Taiwan” (亞亞在台灣) yesterday evening voluntarily left Taiwan, despite saying yesterday morning that she had “no intention” of leaving after her residence permit was revoked over her comments on Taiwan being “unified” with China by military force. The Ministry of the Interior yesterday had said that it could forcibly deport the influencer at midnight, but was considering taking a more flexible approach and beginning procedures this morning. The influencer, whose given name is Liu Zhenya (劉振亞), departed on a 8:45pm flight from Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport) to Fuzhou, China. Liu held a news conference at the airport at 7pm,
KAOHSIUNG CEREMONY: The contract chipmaker is planning to build 5 fabs in the southern city to gradually expand its 2-nanometer chip capacity Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s biggest contract chipmaker, yesterday confirmed that it plans to hold a ceremony on March 31 to unveil a capacity expansion plan for its most advanced 2-nanometer chips in Kaohsiung, demonstrating its commitment to further investment at home. The ceremony is to be hosted by TSMC cochief operating officer Y.P. Chyn (秦永沛). It did not disclose whether Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) and high-ranking government officials would attend the ceremony. More details are to be released next week, it said. The chipmaker’s latest move came after its announcement earlier this month of an additional US$100 billion
Authorities yesterday elaborated on the rules governing Employment Gold Cards after a US cardholder was barred from entering Taiwan for six years after working without a permit during a 2023 visit. American YouTuber LeLe Farley was barred after already being approved for an Employment Gold Card, he said in a video published on his channel on Saturday. Farley, who has more than 420,000 subscribers on his YouTube channel, was approved for his Gold Card last month, but was told at a check-in counter at the Los Angeles International Airport that he could not enter Taiwan. That was because he previously participated in two
RSS