■ELECTRONICS
NEC, Renesas delay deal
NEC Electronics Corp and Renesas Technology Corp, Japan’s second-largest chip maker, delayed signing a merger to the end of next month, citing the need for more time to evaluate the assets. “The due diligence process is taking longer than we expected, but we are confident about reaching an agreement next month,” Shinichi Kaede, a spokesman at NEC Electronics, said by phone yesterday. The two companies, which had originally planned to agree on terms of the transaction by the end of this month, maintained their target date of April next year to complete the merger, he said. The combined company will achieve an operating-profit margin of at least 5 percent, NEC Electronics president Junshi Yamaguchi said last month.
■AVIATION
EADS profit jumps in Q2
European aerospace giant EADS yesterday reported a 76 percent jump in net profit for the second quarter to 208 million euros (US$297 million) despite costs linked to delays of its A400M plane. EADS, the parent company of Airbus, said its second-quarter operating profit was up 69 percent to 656 million euros, but for the first half of the year was down 23 percent at 888 million euros. It said the drop reflected a charge of 191 million euros taken to cover delays on the A400M military transport project. Total provisions for the aircraft add up to 2.3 billion euros.
■FINANCE
Bank to scale back network
Bank of America Corp is planning to reduce its 6,100-branch network by about 10 percent, the Wall Street Journal cited bank chief executive Kenneth Lewis as telling investors. The plans were discussed at a meeting in Charlotte, North Carolina, last Thursday, the paper said, citing people familiar with the matter. The Journal’s sources added that Liam McGee, president of Bank of America’s consumer and small-business bank, also said branch closures were planned, but did not specify how many locations could be closed.
■INTERNET
Google sells AOL stake
Time Warner has bought back Google’s 5 percent stake in struggling Internet company AOL for US$283 million. The price, paid on July 8, is close to what Google estimated its stake at earlier this year. The details emerged in a regulatory filing by AOL on Monday. The deal sets the stage for AOL’s impending spin-off from parent Time Warner. Google bought the stake for US$1 billion in 2006, but in January estimated the investment had sunk by more than 70 percent to US$274 million — giving AOL a market value of about US$5.5 billion. Time Warner agreed to buy back the stake earlier this year. The price at which New York-based Time Warner bought back the stake values AOL slightly higher, at about US$5.66 billion.
■TELECOMS
Verizon to cut 8,000 jobs
Verizon Communications, the second-largest US phone company, said on Monday it would slash another 8,000 jobs in the second half of this year amid declining earnings. Profits fell 21 percent to US$1.48 billion, or US$0.52 per share, from US$0.66 per share a year earlier, Verizon said. Revenue rose 11 percent to US$26.9 billion on increased sales of high-speed fiber-optic internet service and the company’s acquisition of rival Alltel Corp in January. Verizon was hurt by rising pension costs and cuts in landline phone service, especially by businesses.
SECURITY: As China is ‘reshaping’ Hong Kong’s population, Taiwan must raise the eligibility threshold for applications from Hong Kongers, Chiu Chui-cheng said When Hong Kong and Macau citizens apply for residency in Taiwan, it would be under a new category that includes a “national security observation period,” Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday. President William Lai (賴清德) on March 13 announced 17 strategies to counter China’s aggression toward Taiwan, including incorporating national security considerations into the review process for residency applications from Hong Kong and Macau citizens. The situation in Hong Kong is constantly changing, Chiu said to media yesterday on the sidelines of the Taipei Technology Run hosted by the Taipei Neihu Technology Park Development Association. With
CARROT AND STICK: While unrelenting in its military threats, China attracted nearly 40,000 Taiwanese to over 400 business events last year Nearly 40,000 Taiwanese last year joined industry events in China, such as conferences and trade fairs, supported by the Chinese government, a study showed yesterday, as Beijing ramps up a charm offensive toward Taipei alongside military pressure. China has long taken a carrot-and-stick approach to Taiwan, threatening it with the prospect of military action while reaching out to those it believes are amenable to Beijing’s point of view. Taiwanese security officials are wary of what they see as Beijing’s influence campaigns to sway public opinion after Taipei and Beijing gradually resumed travel links halted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the scale of
A US Marine Corps regiment equipped with Naval Strike Missiles (NSM) is set to participate in the upcoming Balikatan 25 exercise in the Luzon Strait, marking the system’s first-ever deployment in the Philippines. US and Philippine officials have separately confirmed that the Navy Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System (NMESIS) — the mobile launch platform for the Naval Strike Missile — would take part in the joint exercise. The missiles are being deployed to “a strategic first island chain chokepoint” in the waters between Taiwan proper and the Philippines, US-based Naval News reported. “The Luzon Strait and Bashi Channel represent a critical access
Pope Francis is be laid to rest on Saturday after lying in state for three days in St Peter’s Basilica, where the faithful are expected to flock to pay their respects to history’s first Latin American pontiff. The cardinals met yesterday in the Vatican’s synod hall to chart the next steps before a conclave begins to choose Francis’ successor, as condolences poured in from around the world. According to current norms, the conclave must begin between May 5 and 10. The cardinals set the funeral for Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square, to be celebrated by the dean of the College
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