Sun, Sep 18, 2011 page11

• Business Quick Take

  • Agencies
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  TELECOMS

  T-Mobile takeover blocked

  Seven US states on Friday threw their support behind the Department of Justice lawsuit seeking to block AT&T’s US$39 billion takeover of T-Mobile. The department said the attorneys general of California, Illinois, Massachusetts, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Washington had joined the suit filed in a US district court in Washington last month. The move is another setback for AT&T as it seeks to salvage the proposed takeover of T-Mobile USA, the US unit of Deutsche Telekom. Separately, AT&T today will slip the switch on a high-speed “next-generation” network for smartphones and other wireless Internet gadgets in five cities. The long-term evolution (LTE) network will begin whizzing data to and from handheld devices for subscribers in Atlanta and Chicago, as well as the Texas cities of Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio, AT&T said.

  INTERNET

  Two Twitter directors quit

  Two of Twitter’s earliest investors have left the company’s board of directors, the latest change to the fast-growing social media company’s leadership. Fred Wilson of Union Square Ventures and Bijan Sabet of Spark Capital are no longer on Twitter’s board, the company said on Friday. It was not immediately clear what prompted the change. Twitter does not plan to appoint new directors to replace Wilson and Sabet, a source familiar with the matter said. The departures mark the latest change to Twitter. The company, which raised US$400 million in a new round of funding earlier this year, on Friday credited Wilson and Sabet with playing important roles in its success.

  AUTOMOBILES

  Brazil raises import taxes

  Seeking to protect the local industry, the Brazilian government is sharply raising taxes on imported cars and trucks under a decree published on Friday in the country’s Federal Register. The measure, initially announced at a news conference on Thursday, increases the industrialized products tax by 30 percentage points on vehicles that fail to meet rules about local content. The new rates range from 37 percent to 55 percent, depending on a variety of factors such as vehicle and engine types. This is on top of import duties and other import costs. The decree has exemptions for companies that meet six of 11 new rules about local content. The rules include having at least 65 percent of their vehicles’ parts made in Mercosur countries, investing significantly in research or doing most of their assembly work in Brazil. The measure is meant to protect the domestic industry, Finance Minister Guido Mantega said on Thursday.

  AVIATION

  Boeing delivery postponed

  Boeing says the delivery of the first of its new 747-8 freighters is on hold because of issues with the plane’s first customer. Boeing was set to deliver the first of the revamped 747 freighters tomorrow to Cargolux, a cargo hauler based in Luxembourg, but Boeing spokesman Jim Proulx said on Friday that the delivery would not push through tomorrow “due to unresolved issues” with Cargolux.” He said Boeing was continuing to work with Cargolux to determine a delivery date. Cargolux recently reshuffled its board after Qatar Airways took a 43 percent stake. On Friday it said the new board used its first meeting to review the firm’s financial and business situation, but it did not say anything about the 747. The latest delay comes as Boeing is also getting ready to deliver its new 787 to All Nippon Airways later this month.
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