■JAPAN
New stimulus planned
The government is considering more steps to fire up the economy on top of a planned ¥12 trillion (US$131 billion) in new spending and tax cuts as the economy probably shrank an annualized 10 percent in the fourth quarter of last year, the Nikkei Shimbun reported. Economics Minister Kaoru Yosano has instructed ministries to informally craft policies aimed at reviving the economy, the Nikkei said yesterday without citing sources. Parliament is now debating the government’s record ¥88.5 trillion budget for the next fiscal year starting in April.
■AIRLINES
SIA drops Vancouver route
Singapore Airlines (SIA) said yesterday it would suspend its thrice weekly service to Vancouver, which has been “badly affected” by the global economic crisis. The last flight will be on April 25, the airline said in a statement. The Singapore-Vancouver service passes through Seoul. SIA said it would continue to serve Canada through its 42 weekly flights between Singapore and its gateways in the US. The airline also offers codeshare services on Air Canada to Toronto and Montreal from its European gateways.
■JEWELRY
Buffett buys Tiffany debt
Tiffany & Co says it sold US$250 million in debt to billionaire Warren Buffett’s company, and the jeweler plans to use the proceeds to refinance existing debt. New York-based Tiffany disclosed in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday that it had sold the debt to Berkshire Hathaway Inc a day earlier. Omaha-based Berkshire will receive 10 percent interest on the new senior notes. Half of the debt will be due in 2017, and the other half will be due in 2019.
■FOOD
Peanut Corp bankrupt
The peanut processing company at the heart of a national salmonella outbreak is going out of business. The Peanut Corp of America, which is headquartered in Lynchburg, Virginia, filed for bankruptcy in the US Bankruptcy Court in Virginia on Friday. It was the latest bad news for the company that has been accused of producing tainted peanut products that may have been sent to everyone from poor schoolchildren to disaster victims.
■AUTOMOBILES
Suppliers ask for aid
Two groups representing US auto suppliers have asked the Treasury Department for up to US$25.5 billion in emergency aid, the associations said on Friday. The request came days before General Motors and Chrysler are required to present long-term viability plans to the Treasury to prove they will be able to repay US$13.4 billion in loans. The supplier organizations warned in their submission that as many as 1 million jobs could be lost should the supplier base not be supported.
■REAL ESTATE
Trump resigns from board
Real estate tycoon Donald Trump and his daughter Ivanka are resigning from the board of directors of Trump Entertainment Resorts, the troubled casino company he once controlled. The company won a fourth extension on Wednesday on restructuring US$1.25 billion in debt, and some analysts have predicted it will file for bankruptcy protection if it doesn’t work out a deal with its bond holders. Trump said in a statement released late on Friday that he is quitting because it is controlled by the company’s bond holders and he disagrees with their actions.
PROTECTION: The investigation, which takes aim at exporters such as Canada, Germany and Brazil, came days after Trump unveiled tariff hikes on steel and aluminum products US President Donald Trump on Saturday ordered a probe into potential tariffs on lumber imports — a move threatening to stoke trade tensions — while also pushing for a domestic supply boost. Trump signed an executive order instructing US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick to begin an investigation “to determine the effects on the national security of imports of timber, lumber and their derivative products.” The study might result in new tariffs being imposed, which would pile on top of existing levies. The investigation takes aim at exporters like Canada, Germany and Brazil, with White House officials earlier accusing these economies of
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) would not produce its most advanced technologies in the US next year, Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) said yesterday. Kuo made the comment during an appearance at the legislature, hours after the chipmaker announced that it would invest an additional US$100 billion to expand its manufacturing operations in the US. Asked by Taiwan People’s Party Legislator-at-large Chang Chi-kai (張啟楷) if TSMC would allow its most advanced technologies, the yet-to-be-released 2-nanometer and 1.6-nanometer processes, to go to the US in the near term, Kuo denied it. TSMC recently opened its first US factory, which produces 4-nanometer
Teleperformance SE, the largest call-center operator in the world, is rolling out an artificial intelligence (AI) system that softens English-speaking Indian workers’ accents in real time in a move the company claims would make them more understandable. The technology, called accent translation, coupled with background noise cancelation, is being deployed in call centers in India, where workers provide customer support to some of Teleperformance’s international clients. The company provides outsourced customer support and content moderation to global companies including Apple Inc, ByteDance Ltd’s (字節跳動) TikTok and Samsung Electronics Co Ltd. “When you have an Indian agent on the line, sometimes it’s hard
‘SACRED MOUNTAIN’: The chipmaker can form joint ventures abroad, except in China, but like other firms, it needs government approval for large investments Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) needs government permission for any overseas joint ventures (JVs), but there are no restrictions on making the most advanced chips overseas other than for China, Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) said yesterday. US media have said that TSMC, the world’s largest contract chipmaker and a major supplier to companies such as Apple Inc and Nvidia Corp, has been in talks for a stake in Intel Corp. Neither company has confirmed the talks, but US President Donald Trump has accused Taiwan of taking away the US’ semiconductor business and said he wants the industry back
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