■AUTOMOBILES
GM denies SAIC deal
General Motors Corp does not plan to sell its stake in a joint venture with local partner SAIC Motor Corp (上海汽車), a spokesman for the US automaker said yesterday. “There is no truth to the story that we are planning to sell Shanghai GM shares to our partner SAIC,” said Henry Wong, a Shanghai-based spokesman for the company.
■CHEMICALS
Dow to reduce bonuses
The largest US chemical maker, Dow Chemical, will cut its bonuses for the first time in almost 100 years because of the economic crisis and massive financial problems, the company announced on Thursday. The firm’s disbursement in the next quarter will be US$0.15, which is only a third of the amount paid last time. Starting in 1912, the company never had to reduce its bonus. Up to the beginning of this year, Dow Chemical denied it would have to do so. Last week, Dow Chemical reported a loss of US$1.6 billion in the last quarter of last year, compared with a US$472 million profit in 2007.
■ALUMINUM
Alcoa partners with Henan
US-based Alcoa on Thursday announced a “strategic cooperation agreement” with Henan Province in China on primary and fabricated aluminum products. The agreement was signed on Wednesday at Alcoa’s New York headquarters by company president and chief executive Klaus Kleinfeld and Henan Governor Guo Gengmao (郭庚茂). “By combining the strengths of Henan Province, an area with abundant energy and natural resources, and Alcoa’s technology and market leadership, we are aiming to establish a globally competitive base for aluminum production in China,” Kleinfeld said.
■STEEL
ThyssenKrupp profits down
ThyssenKrupp AG, Germany’s largest steelmaker, said yesterday company profits dropped sharply in the fiscal first quarter and that it would cut jobs as the world economic crisis caused a sharp fall in demand for steel. The Duesseldorf-based company said net profit in the quarter from October to December fell 63 percent to 163 million euros (US$210 million). Sales for the quarter fell by 6 percent to 11.5 billion euros. Ekkehard Schulz, Thyssen’s chief executive, said the company expected similar business conditions in the second quarter and that a full-year outlook was difficult to make given the ongoing economic situation.
■ELECTRONICS
Panasonic urges staff to buy
Panasonic Corp is urging its 10,000 managers in Japan to buy the company’s products to boost sales and help reverse a profit plunge, a spokesman said yesterday. Executives and senior managers are being asked to buy at least ¥200,000 (US$2,200) in Panasonic goods, such as refrigerators, flat-panel TVs and Blu-ray disc players, by July, said Akira Kadota, the spokesman. Lower level managers are asked to buy at least ¥100,000 worth of such products, he said.
■STOCKS
Lehman head to lead LSE
The London Stock Exchange (LSE) has appointed Xavier Rolet, the former head of Lehman Brothers in France, as its new chief executive, the LSE said yesterday. Rolet will join the LSE board on March 16 and will take over as chief executive on May 20, it said in a statement. LSE shares, which peaked at over £17 a year ago, have fallen sharply amid concerns that the financial market downturn will curb equity trading volumes.
Authorities have detained three former Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TMSC, 台積電) employees on suspicion of compromising classified technology used in making 2-nanometer chips, the Taiwan High Prosecutors’ Office said yesterday. Prosecutors are holding a former TSMC engineer surnamed Chen (陳) and two recently sacked TSMC engineers, including one person surnamed Wu (吳) in detention with restricted communication, following an investigation launched on July 25, a statement said. The announcement came a day after Nikkei Asia reported on the technology theft in an exclusive story, saying TSMC had fired two workers for contravening data rules on advanced chipmaking technology. Two-nanometer wafers are the most
DEFENSE: The first set of three NASAMS that were previously purchased is expected to be delivered by the end of this year and deployed near the capital, sources said Taiwan plans to procure 28 more sets of M-142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS), as well as nine additional sets of National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems (NASAMS), military sources said yesterday. Taiwan had previously purchased 29 HIMARS launchers from the US and received the first 11 last year. Once the planned purchases are completed and delivered, Taiwan would have 57 sets of HIMARS. The army has also increased the number of MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) purchased from 64 to 84, the sources added. Each HIMARS launch pod can carry six Guided Multiple Launch Rocket Systems, capable of
Tsunami waves were possible in three areas of Kamchatka in Russia’s Far East, the Russian Ministry for Emergency Services said yesterday after a magnitude 7.0 earthquake hit the nearby Kuril Islands. “The expected wave heights are low, but you must still move away from the shore,” the ministry said on the Telegram messaging app, after the latest seismic activity in the area. However, the Pacific Tsunami Warning System in Hawaii said there was no tsunami warning after the quake. The Russian tsunami alert was later canceled. Overnight, the Krasheninnikov volcano in Kamchatka erupted for the first time in 600 years, Russia’s RIA
CHINA’s BULLYING: The former British prime minister said that he believes ‘Taiwan can and will’ protect its freedom and democracy, as its people are lovers of liberty Former British prime minister Boris Johnson yesterday said Western nations should have the courage to stand with and deepen their economic partnerships with Taiwan in the face of China’s intensified pressure. He made the remarks at the ninth Ketagalan Forum: 2025 Indo-Pacific Security Dialogue hosted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Prospect Foundation in Taipei. Johnson, who is visiting Taiwan for the first time, said he had seen Taiwan’s coastline on a screen on his indoor bicycle, but wanted to learn more about the nation, including its artificial intelligence (AI) development, the key technology of the 21st century. Calling himself an
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