■ STEEL
ThyssenKrupp cuts jobs
ThyssenKrupp plans to shed more than 3,000 jobs, a press report said yesterday, the first time a German industrial group would eliminate permanent posts as a result of the country’s recession. ThyssenKrupp, a steel maker and manufacturer of industrial goods, would cut 1.5 percent of its workforce as it struggles with falling demand for its products, the Financial Times said, without identifying its sources. The group’s steel, automotive and ship building divisions would be affected by the cuts, the newspaper said. Until now, German groups have reduced workers’ hours or eliminated temporary posts in an attempt to weather the country’s worst recession since the 1930s. In January, the heads of 30 leading German companies told German Chancellor Angela Merkel they would not resort to compulsory layoffs, the report said.
■ AUTOMOBILES
Fiat may take Chrysler debt
Chrysler LLC’s chief executive said on Thursday that if its proposed alliance with automaker Fiat SpA goes through, the Italian automaker would be responsible for 35 percent of Chrysler’s debt to the US government. Chrysler is living off US$4 billion in US government loans and is seeking an additional US$5 billion. CEO Bob Nardelli said in a video posted on Thursday on Chrysler’s Web site that the company could be viable on its own, but he said a deal with Fiat would enhance that viability. Fiat is discussing trading its small-car technology for a 35 percent stake in Chrysler.
■ ENERGY
Total to refine in China
French energy giant Total, spurred by more attractive pricing rules, is planning to set up new refining and petrochemicals projects in China, state media reported yesterday. Total wants to take advantage of a new system in China allowing competitive pricing and an appropriate profit margin for oil refiners, the China Daily reported, citing Total China chairman Jacques de Boisseson. Total currently operates one refinery in northeastern China and has no petrochemicals plant there. It has recently set up a venture with PetroChina in the South Sulige block in the Inner Mongolia region.
■ RETAIL
Wal-Mart pays out US$2bn
Wal-Mart Stores Inc has announced it has paid US$2 billion this year to its US employees in bonuses, merchandise discounts and retirement contributions. The world’s largest retailer said on Thursday that US$934 million of the money went toward bonuses, averaging US$666 for each of the company’s 1.4 million domestic workers. Wal-Mart chief executive officer Mike Duke said US$789 million was paid in profit-sharing and retirement contributions and the remainder went to the employee stock purchase plan and merchandise discounts for workers. In a letter, Duke congratulated employees for Wal-Mart’s recent successes in an economic environment that has its competitors struggling.
■ ELECTRONICS
Pre needs polishing: Palm
Palm Inc on Thursday said its upcoming Pre phone needed “more polishing” but that it was on track to start selling the high profit device in the first half of the year as it looks to grab back smartphone business from rivals. The company gave the update while it reported a wider loss and revenue that fell 70 percent from a year ago, in line with its recent warning for a weak fiscal third quarter.
AIR SUPPORT: The Ministry of National Defense thanked the US for the delivery, adding that it was an indicator of the White House’s commitment to the Taiwan Relations Act Deputy Minister of National Defense Po Horng-huei (柏鴻輝) and Representative to the US Alexander Yui on Friday attended a delivery ceremony for the first of Taiwan’s long-awaited 66 F-16C/D Block 70 jets at a Lockheed Martin Corp factory in Greenville, South Carolina. “We are so proud to be the global home of the F-16 and to support Taiwan’s air defense capabilities,” US Representative William Timmons wrote on X, alongside a photograph of Taiwanese and US officials at the event. The F-16C/D Block 70 jets Taiwan ordered have the same capabilities as aircraft that had been upgraded to F-16Vs. The batch of Lockheed Martin
GRIDLOCK: The National Fire Agency’s Special Search and Rescue team is on standby to travel to the countries to help out with the rescue effort A powerful earthquake rocked Myanmar and neighboring Thailand yesterday, killing at least three people in Bangkok and burying dozens when a high-rise building under construction collapsed. Footage shared on social media from Myanmar’s second-largest city showed widespread destruction, raising fears that many were trapped under the rubble or killed. The magnitude 7.7 earthquake, with an epicenter near Mandalay in Myanmar, struck at midday and was followed by a strong magnitude 6.4 aftershock. The extent of death, injury and destruction — especially in Myanmar, which is embroiled in a civil war and where information is tightly controlled at the best of times —
Taiwan was ranked the fourth-safest country in the world with a score of 82.9, trailing only Andorra, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar in Numbeo’s Safety Index by Country report. Taiwan’s score improved by 0.1 points compared with last year’s mid-year report, which had Taiwan fourth with a score of 82.8. However, both scores were lower than in last year’s first review, when Taiwan scored 83.3, and are a long way from when Taiwan was named the second-safest country in the world in 2021, scoring 84.8. Taiwan ranked higher than Singapore in ninth with a score of 77.4 and Japan in 10th with
SECURITY RISK: If there is a conflict between China and Taiwan, ‘there would likely be significant consequences to global economic and security interests,’ it said China remains the top military and cyber threat to the US and continues to make progress on capabilities to seize Taiwan, a report by US intelligence agencies said on Tuesday. The report provides an overview of the “collective insights” of top US intelligence agencies about the security threats to the US posed by foreign nations and criminal organizations. In its Annual Threat Assessment, the agencies divided threats facing the US into two broad categories, “nonstate transnational criminals and terrorists” and “major state actors,” with China, Russia, Iran and North Korea named. Of those countries, “China presents the most comprehensive and robust military threat
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