■FINANCE
Thain resigns from BOA
John Thain, the former chief executive of the loss-ridden Merrill Lynch, which was taken over by Bank of America, resigned on Thursday from the bank, in which he has been head of global banking, securities and wealth management, an official said. Thain tendered his resignation to Bank of America chief executive Kenneth Lewis. “I can confirm that Ken Lewis flew to New York today to talk to John Thain and it was mutually agreed that his situation was not working out and he would resign,” bank spokesman Robert Stickler said in an e-mail. Thain was given the new post in Bank of America after it acquired Merrill Lynch on Jan. 1 amid financial turmoil that wreaked havoc on American financial institutions.
■TECHNOLOGY
Qimonda files for insolvency
Struggling chipmaker Qimonda has filed for insolvency at a court in Munich, a court spokeswoman said yesterday. The Infineon subsidiary received a US$422 million cash injection last month in a bid to keep it afloat. In addition to its main factory at Dresden in the east of Germany, Qimonda has a plant near Porto in Portugal. Qimonda has suffered from a dramatic fall in prices for computer chips. In November, the company warned it might face insolvency if support was not forthcoming.
■AUTOMOTIVE
Toyota mulls 1,000 job cuts
Japanese carmaker Toyota Motor Corp is considering shedding more than 1,000 regular workers in North America and in Britain, a report said yesterday. Toyota is examining how it could make the cuts at its seven plants in North America and one plant in Britain, and is aiming to finalize the plan by the end of the month, the Japanese business daily Nikkei reported, citing an unnamed senior Toyota official. The possible job cuts would be the first time Toyota has axed regular workers since 1950, when it laid off about 1,600 employees in Japan, the report said.
■STEEL
Nippon to cut crude output
Asia’s largest steelmaker Nippon Steel will cut crude steel output by 15 percent during the current financial year to March from a year earlier, a report said yesterday. The output reduction of 5 million tonnes would be achieved by temporarily suspending blast furnaces at plants in Japan, the Japanese daily Yomiuri Shimbun reported, citing unnamed sources. With the cut, the Japanese firm, the world’s largest steelmaker after behemoth Arcelor Mittal, is aiming to adjust its operation to match output reductions in a wide range of industries including the auto industry, the report said.
■TIRES
Bridgestone sheds 800 jobs
Japanese tiremaker Bridgestone Corp said yesterday that it was shedding about 800 jobs in the US to cope with weaker demand. Bridgestone said it would stop making tires for passenger cars and light trucks at its Tennessee factory with the loss of 543 jobs. It will also reduce production of tires for bigger trucks at the same plant, resulting in a further 259 layoffs. Bridgestone said it hoped to re-hire workers when the economy picks up, perhaps as early as the fourth quarter of this year. The company will continue to produce tires for larger trucks and buses at the plant with more than 700 workers.
NO HUMAN ERROR: After the incident, the Coast Guard Administration said it would obtain uncrewed aerial vehicles and vessels to boost its detection capacity Authorities would improve border control to prevent unlawful entry into Taiwan’s waters and safeguard national security, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday after a Chinese man reached the nation’s coast on an inflatable boat, saying he “defected to freedom.” The man was found on a rubber boat when he was about to set foot on Taiwan at the estuary of Houkeng River (後坑溪) near Taiping Borough (太平) in New Taipei City’s Linkou District (林口), authorities said. The Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) northern branch said it received a report at 6:30am yesterday morning from the New Taipei City Fire Department about a
IN BEIJING’S FAVOR: A China Coast Guard spokesperson said that the Chinese maritime police would continue to carry out law enforcement activities in waters it claims The Philippines withdrew its coast guard vessel from a South China Sea shoal that has recently been at the center of tensions with Beijing. BRP Teresa Magbanua “was compelled to return to port” from Sabina Shoal (Xianbin Shoal, 仙濱暗沙) due to bad weather, depleted supplies and the need to evacuate personnel requiring medical care, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesman Jay Tarriela said yesterday in a post on X. The Philippine vessel “will be in tiptop shape to resume her mission” after it has been resupplied and repaired, Philippine Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, who heads the nation’s maritime council, said
REGIONAL STABILITY: Taipei thanked the Biden administration for authorizing its 16th sale of military goods and services to uphold Taiwan’s defense and safety The US Department of State has approved the sale of US$228 million of military goods and services to Taiwan, the US Department of Defense said on Monday. The state department “made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale” to the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the US for “return, repair and reshipment of spare parts and related equipment,” the defense department’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency said in a news release. Taiwan had requested the purchase of items and services which include the “return, repair and reshipment of classified and unclassified spare parts for aircraft and related equipment; US Government
More than 500 people on Saturday marched in New York in support of Taiwan’s entry to the UN, significantly more people than previous years. The march, coinciding with the ongoing 79th session of the UN General Assembly, comes close on the heels of growing international discourse regarding the meaning of UN Resolution 2758. Resolution 2758, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1971, recognizes the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as the “only lawful representative of China.” It resulted in the Republic of China (ROC) losing its seat at the UN to the PRC. Taiwan has since been excluded from
RSS