■CLOTHING
Burberry to slash 540 jobs
British luxury clothing brand Burberry said yesterday it planned to eliminate up to 540 jobs in Britain and Spain as the global economic slowdown takes its toll. The company famed for its iconic trenchcoat said it would shut a sewing factory in Rotherham, northern England, and close its “underperforming” Thomas Burberry business in Spain. “Burberry will shortly be entering a consultation process in Spain, which could lead to around 250 redundancies,” the group said in a statement. In addition, up to 290 staff will lose their jobs in England. Burberry said in a statement that the measures would help the group to reduce annual costs by up to £35 million (US$50 million).
■ECONOMICS
China, HK sign agreement
China and Hong Kong signed a 200 billion yuan (US$29 billion) swap agreement yesterday as part of Beijing’s measures to help the city through the economic crisis, the Chinese central bank said. “It will ... strengthen the outside world’s confidence in the financial stability of Hong Kong,” the People’s Bank of China said in a statement about the three-year agreement. It will ease liquidity trouble for the territory as it will boost the amount of yuan that Hong Kong banks can draw on as they service companies in the city that use the Chinese currency when trading.
■TECHNOLOGY
RIM may appeal court order
Canadian firm Research In Motion (RIM), the maker of the Blackberry smartphone, said on Monday that it may appeal a court order that blocked its hostile takeover offer for Certicom Corp. “RIM is reviewing the court’s reasons for decision and is considering any alternatives available to it as a result of the court order, including a possible appeal,” RIM said in a statement. Based in Waterloo, Ontario, the firm made an offer in December to buy encryption software maker Certicom Corp for C$66 million (US$53 million). But Certicom said the Ontario Superior Court of Justice had granted a permanent injunction to block the buyout offer of C$1.50 per share. RIM said it “continues to be disappointed by the actions of Certicom’s directors in pursuing court proceedings.”
■ECONOMICS
S Korea reports trade deficit
South Korea recorded its first trade deficit in 11 years last year due to the global economic slowdown and soaring crude prices earlier in the year, the Customs Service said yesterday. It said the shortfall was US$13.3 billion last year compared with a surplus of US$14.6 billion in 2007. Exports jumped 13.6 percent to US$422 billion but imports surged 22 percent to US$435.3 billion, it said in a report. The annual trade deficit was the first since 1997 when the nation was hit by the East Asian financial crisis.
■AUTOMOTIVE
BMW looks for guarantees
Germany’s BMW, the world’s largest premium car maker, is looking into applying for state guarantees to back up its borrowings, the Bild Zeitung newspaper reported yesterday. BMW was not immediately available for comment on the report. The car maker would become the second manufacturer in Germany to seek state aid after Volkswagen sought guarantees for its financial divisions to cover refinancing of car loans in December. Germany’s carmakers are suffering from collapsing global demand.
QUIET START: Nearly a week after applications opened, agencies did not announce or promote the program, nor did they explain how it differed from other visitor visas Taiwan has launched a six-month “digital nomad visitor visa” program for foreign nationals from its list of visa-exempt countries who meet financial eligibility criteria and provide proof of work contracts. To apply, foreign nationals must either provide proof that they have obtained a digital nomad visa issued by another country or demonstrate earnings based on age brackets, the Bureau of Consular Affairs said. Applicants aged 20 to 29 must show they earned an annual salary of at least US$20,000 or its equivalent in one of the past two years, while those aged 30 or older must provide proof they earned US$40,000 in
AIR DEFENSE: The Norwegian missile system has proved highly effective in Ukraine in its war against Russia, and the US has recommended it for Taiwan, an expert said The Norwegian Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems (NASAMS) Taiwan ordered from the US would be installed in strategically important positions in Taipei and New Taipei City to guard the region, the Ministry of National Defense said in statement yesterday. The air defense system would be deployed in Taipei’s Songshan District (松山) and New Taipei City’s Tamsui District (淡水), the ministry said, adding that the systems could be delivered as soon as the end of this year. The US Defense Security Cooperation Agency has previously said that three NASAMS would be sold to Taiwan. The weapons are part of the 17th US arms sale to
SERIOUS ALLEGATIONS: The suspects formed spy networks and paramilitary groups to kill government officials during a possible Chinese invasion, prosecutors said Prosecutors have indicted seven retired military officers, members of the Rehabilitation Alliance Party, for allegedly obtaining funds from China, and forming paramilitary groups and assassination squads in Taiwan to collaborate with Chinese troops in a possible war. The suspects contravened the National Security Act (國家安全法) by taking photos and drawing maps of key radar stations, missile installations and the American Institute in Taiwan’s headquarters in Taipei, prosecutors said. They allegedly prepared to collaborate with China during a possible invasion of Taiwan, prosecutors said. Retired military officer Chu Hung-i (屈宏義), 62, a Republic of China Army Academy graduate, went to China
UNITY MESSAGE: Rather than focusing on what Trump said on the campaign trail about Taiwan, Taipei should be willing to engage with the US, Pompeo said Taiwan plays a key role in Washington’s model of deterrence against China, former US secretary of state Mike Pompeo said in a speech in Taipei yesterday. During US president-elect Donald Trump’s first term, “we had developed what we believe was a pretty effective model of deterrence against adversaries who wanted to undermine the set of rules and values that the people of Taiwan and the people of the US hold dear,” Pompeo said at a forum organized by the Formosa Republican Association. “Succeeding in continuing to build this model will not solely rest at the feet of president Trump and his team,
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