■REAL ESTATE
Land Lease cutting jobs
Australia’s largest property developer Lend Lease said yesterday it would lose about 1,700 jobs worldwide due to the global financial crisis, the second national company in as many days to flag job cuts. Lend Lease posted a A$600 million (US$388 million) first-half loss compared with a A$251 million profit recorded a year earlier, saying deteriorating economic and market conditions had forced it to reduce its global staff. “There is no doubt that 2009 is challenging as the effects of the global financial crisis continue to be felt,” chief executive Steve McCann said.
■COMPUTERS
Jobs will be back: Apple
Apple’s board of directors on Wednesday assured stockholders at its annual gathering that ailing chief executive Steve Jobs was on track to return to the company’s helm in June as planned. “Nothing has changed,” Apple board member Arthur Levinson replied when a shareholder asked whether Jobs would return to work on schedule. Apple announced on Jan. 14 that Jobs, who turned 54 on Tuesday, will be on a leave of absence until the end of June because his health issues were “more complex” than initially believed.
■SOFTWARE
Microsoft sues TomTom
Microsoft on Wednesday said it is steering Netherlands-based vehicle navigation systems firm TomTom to court for infringing on the software giant’s patented technology. Microsoft filed complaints against TomTom in US district court and with the International Trade Commission, said Horacio Gutierrez, deputy general counsel of intellectual property and licensing at Microsoft. Patents involved in the case relate to vehicle navigation technology and computer software that Microsoft has licensed to other firms, he said.
■HARDWARE
Cisco cutting 250 jobs
Cisco Systems Inc, the largest maker of networking equipment, cut 250 jobs in San Jose, California, this week, as the company begins a worldwide effort to trim headcount and consolidate offices. Cisco chief executive officer John Chambers said earlier this month the company was always “realigning and restructuring resources” and that 1,500 to 2,000 jobs might be eliminated in the near term. Cisco said then its headcount was 67,318 last quarter.
■AUTOMOBILES
VW has new plans for China
German automaker Volkswagen AG said yesterday that it is launching a new strategy for the China market, aiming to double its sales by upgrading its brand image and improving customer service. “We plan to add or renew at least four models per year and double the number of dealerships to achieve our sales target,” Winfried Vahland, the Wolfsburg, Germany-based company’s president for China, said in a statement. Volkswagen reported a new record of 6.23 million vehicles sold last year, up 0.6 percent from the year before. Sales in China rose 12.5 percent to 1.02 million last year, compared with 1.06 million in Germany, Volkswagen’s biggest market.
■INSURANCE
Allianz lost big last year
German insurance giant Allianz yesterday posted a worse-than-expected loss for last year, owing in large part to a huge charge in connection with the sale of its Dresdner Bank subsidiary. Allianz said its net loss amounted to 2.44 billion euros (US$3.1 billion). Analysts polled by Dow Jones Newswires had forecast a 1.86 billion euro drop. Allianz made a net profit of 7.97 billion euros in 2007.
INSURRECTION: The NSB said it found evidence the CCP was seeking snipers in Taiwan to target members of the military and foreign organizations in the event of an invasion The number of Chinese spies prosecuted in Taiwan has grown threefold over a four-year period, the National Security Bureau (NSB) said in a report released yesterday. In 2021 and 2022, 16 and 10 spies were prosecuted respectively, but that number grew to 64 last year, it said, adding that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) was working with gangs in Taiwan to develop a network of armed spies. Spies in Taiwan have on behalf of the CCP used a variety of channels and methods to infiltrate all sectors of the country, and recruited Taiwanese to cooperate in developing organizations and obtaining sensitive information
Seven hundred and sixty-four foreigners were arrested last year for acting as money mules for criminals, with many entering Taiwan on a tourist visa for all-expenses-paid trips, the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) said on Saturday. Although from Jan. 1 to Dec. 26 last year, 26,478 people were arrested for working as money mules, the bureau said it was particularly concerned about those entering the country as tourists or migrant workers who help criminals and scammers pick up or transfer illegally obtained money. In a report, officials divided the money mules into two groups, the first of which are foreigners, mainly from Malaysia
SILICON VALLEY HUB: The office would showcase Taiwan’s strengths in semiconductors and artificial intelligence, and help Taiwanese start-ups connect with global opportunities Taiwan has established an office in Palo Alto, one of the principal cities of Silicon Valley in California, aimed at helping Taiwanese technology start-ups gain global visibility, the National Development Council said yesterday. The “Startup Island Taiwan Silicon Valley hub” at No. 299 California Avenue is focused on “supporting start-ups and innovators by providing professional consulting, co-working spaces, and community platforms,” the council said in a post on its Web site. The office is the second overseas start-up hub established by the council, after a similar site was set up in Tokyo in September last year. Representatives from Taiwanese start-ups, local businesses and
‘DETERRENT’: US national security adviser-designate Mike Waltz said that he wants to speed up deliveries of weapons purchased by Taiwan to deter threats from China US president-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for US secretary of defense, Pete Hegseth, affirmed his commitment to peace in the Taiwan Strait during his confirmation hearing in Washington on Tuesday. Hegseth called China “the most comprehensive and serious challenge to US national security” and said that he would aim to limit Beijing’s expansion in the Indo-Pacific region, Voice of America reported. He would also adhere to long-standing policies to prevent miscalculations, Hegseth added. The US Senate Armed Services Committee hearing was the first for a nominee of Trump’s incoming Cabinet, and questions mostly focused on whether he was fit for the
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