LUXURY BRANDS
LVMH, Tiffany not talking
LVMH and Tiffany & Co are staying away from the negotiating table, even though a US judge urged them to settle lawsuits over their ill-fated deal to combine, people familiar with their thinking said. The companies instead are preparing for a trial scheduled to begin on Jan. 5 next year, said the people, who did not want to be identified because the matter is private. That could temper investor optimism, after 53 percent of those responding to a Sanford C. Bernstein poll said that they thought the deal could still go through. LVMH jolted Tiffany shareholders earlier this month by announcing that the world’s largest maker of luxury goods had decided to pull out of its US$16 billion acquisition of the jeweler. Tiffany retaliated with a lawsuit. Delaware Chancery Court Judge Joseph Slights earlier this week set the date for the trial after the deal’s original deadline, but before the expiration of US antitrust clearance.
INTERNET
Indoor drone unveiled
Amazon.com Inc on Thursday unveiled an indoor drone for recording security video in homes and products for alerting vehicle owners about attempted break-ins. The news reflects Amazon’s drive into the security business since it acquired the smart doorbell and camera company Ring in 2018. That has led to criticism by civil liberties advocates, who have taken issue with services that let Ring users share videos with law enforcement. Amazon’s indoor drone, called the Ring Always Home Cam, flies to take video in predetermined areas and costs US$249. The company also unveiled a physical vehicle alarm gadget, as well as Ring Car Connect software that first would be compatible with Tesla Inc models. The software plays back video and tells a user if their vehicle is unlocked, among other features.
CHIPMAKERS
Broadcom, EU deal near
Broadcom Inc is nearing a settlement that could end an EU probe into contracts compelling set-top box makers to use its chips, a person familiar with the matter said. The deal with the EU removes a threat of potential fines and is based on Broadcom’s five-year offer to change contracts with customers, said the person, who asked not to be named because the process is not public. The EU is set to accept the US company’s pledge within weeks, formalizing an offer made in April with only minor changes, the person said. Last year, European regulators issued an unusual order in the middle of an investigation, stopping Broadcom temporarily from using contracts that prevented customers from buying chipsets from other suppliers. In response, Broadcom promised in April that it would no longer require original equipment manufacturers to source more than half of their systems-on-a-chip from the company. The offer covered the world outside China. Broadcom also pledged to avoid some inducements for European sales of systems-on-a-chip.
AIRLINES
Simulator revenue eyed
Thai Airways International PCL is opening up its flight simulators to the public, seeking a fresh revenue source amid the slump caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Customers can get into a mock cockpit of an Airbus A380, Boeing 777-300ER, Boeing 747-400 and Boeing 737-400 starting next month, said the carrier, which is coping with debt restructuring under bankruptcy court. Prices start at US$381 for two people for 30 minutes. The company is restructuring about 350 billion baht (US$11.1 billion) of debt after receiving court approval on Sept. 14.
Stephen Garrett, a 27-year-old graduate student, always thought he would study in China, but first the country’s restrictive COVID-19 policies made it nearly impossible and now he has other concerns. The cost is one deterrent, but Garrett is more worried about restrictions on academic freedom and the personal risk of being stranded in China. He is not alone. Only about 700 American students are studying at Chinese universities, down from a peak of nearly 25,000 a decade ago, while there are nearly 300,000 Chinese students at US schools. Some young Americans are discouraged from investing their time in China by what they see
Taiwan Transport and Storage Corp (TTS, 台灣通運倉儲) yesterday unveiled its first electric tractor unit — manufactured by Volvo Trucks — in a ceremony in Taipei, and said the unit would soon be used to transport cement produced by Taiwan Cement Corp (TCC, 台灣水泥). Both TTS and TCC belong to TCC International Holdings Ltd (台泥國際集團). With the electric tractor unit, the Taipei-based cement firm would become the first in Taiwan to use electric vehicles to transport construction materials. TTS chairman Koo Kung-yi (辜公怡), Volvo Trucks vice president of sales and marketing Johan Selven, TCC president Roman Cheng (程耀輝) and Taikoo Motors Group
MAJOR DROP: CEO Tim Cook, who is visiting Hanoi, pledged the firm was committed to Vietnam after its smartphone shipments declined 9.6% annually in the first quarter Apple Inc yesterday said it would increase spending on suppliers in Vietnam, a key production hub, as CEO Tim Cook arrived in the country for a two-day visit. The iPhone maker announced the news in a statement on its Web site, but gave no details of how much it would spend or where the money would go. Cook is expected to meet programmers, content creators and students during his visit, online newspaper VnExpress reported. The visit comes as US President Joe Biden’s administration seeks to ramp up Vietnam’s role in the global tech supply chain to reduce the US’ dependence on China. Images on
New apartments in Taiwan’s major cities are getting smaller, while old apartments are increasingly occupied by older people, many of whom live alone, government data showed. The phenomenon has to do with sharpening unaffordable property prices and an aging population, property brokers said. Apartments with one bedroom that are two years old or older have gained a noticeable presence in the nation’s six special municipalities as well as Hsinchu county and city in the past five years, Evertrust Rehouse Co (永慶房產集團) found, citing data from the government’s real-price transaction platform. In Taipei, apartments with one bedroom accounted for 19 percent of deals last