Lu said the company plans to add 2,000 staff this year to boost its cloud computing, sales and customer service. It has around 25,000 employees currently, he said.

The once-frosty relations between Beijing and Taipei have thawed since China-friendly Kuomintang took over Taiwan’s government in 2008. Among the business ties between the two sides on the telecom front, Chunghwa Telecom agreed to build an undersea cable, connecting Taiwan and China across the Pacific, with China Telecom Corp.

SOURCE: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/chunghwa-telecom-to-expand-workforce-by-8-in-2012-2012-02-04

Hirtler-Garvey has been a member of the youth-focused apparel retailer’s board since August 2005 and has served as chairman of the board’s audit committee as well as the company’s lead independent director. She most recently served as the chief risk executive for Ally Financial Inc. and has held several management positions at Bank of America Corp. (BAC).

Geiger, who also resigned as a member of the board, became the president and chief executive officer of Crumbs Bake Shop Inc. in November. Prior to that, Geiger served as Aeropostale’s chairman and chief executive from August 1998 until February 2010.

Aeropostale, which operates children’s and teen retail chains, saw its stock slump last year as its girls’ business failed to resonate with shoppers and it saw stiffer competition from its teen rivals, including Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (ANF), which has become more promotional.

In November, Aeropostale Inc. reported its fiscal third-quarter profit fell 59% as the company booked sharply higher input costs, though earnings topped the its raised forecast.

Shares closed at $16.64 and were unchanged after hours. The stock is up 9.1% year to date.

SOURCE: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/aeropostale-taps-hirtler-garvey-to-chair-board-2012-02-03

Last month, India’s cabinet approved the proposal by Disney–which currently owns 50.28% of UTV Software–to buy out other shareholders. Walt Disney reiterated Tuesday it will delist UTV Software, which it said would allow it to integrate UTV’s current operations into the company.

Disney Chairman Andy Bird said increasing the company’s reach in international markets was a cornerstone of its growth strategy.

“This acquisition expands our footprint significantly and allows us to more effectively build, monetize and brand multiplatform franchises, and deliver a rich library of content to the world’s second largest population,” he said.

The company said it would produce both UTV and Disney-branded local films.

UTV is also a major television producer in India with six owned channels and also has a mobile-gaming business.

Disney shares closed Tuesday at $38.90 and weren’t active after hours.

SOURCE: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/disney-agrees-to-buy-out-indias-utv-software-2012-01-31

Ivanhoe Australia said it has held detailed talks with several parties interested in investing in the Conclurry group of projects near Mount Isa in Queensland state, including the Osborne Copper-Gold development scheduled to start up in March.

“The interest we have received to date has been very encouraging and we expect that the sale of available minority interests in our assets would provide sufficient funding to help establish Ivanhoe Australia as one of the main base metals players in Australasia,” said Peter Reeve, Ivanhoe Australia’s Chief Executive.

Ivanhoe Australia, which has a market value of A$1.09 billion, is majority owned by Toronto-listed Ivanhoe Mines Ltd. IVN -1.05% and chaired by mining entrepreneur Robert Friedland.

SOURCE: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/ivanhoe-australia-names-ubs-to-find-partner-2012-01-30

President Shuichi Takayama will hold a news conference the same day to explain the results, a company spokeswoman said.

The Japanese maker of cameras and medical imaging equipment last year restated its accounts for the past five years following revelations of a $1.5 billion loss-hiding scandal.

SOURCE: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/olympus-plans-to-report-april-dec-results-feb-13-2012-01-26

The deal comes at a time of steady revenue growth for TransDigm, which makes ignition systems, cockpit-security devices and other aircraft components, as commercial airlines continue to ramp up spending.

Among the company’s recent acquisitions, TransDigm announced an agreement in November to buy Harco Laboratories Inc. for $84 million, increasing its offerings in proprietary components for commercial aircraft, and in August it agreed to buy aircraft-laminates maker Schneller Holdings LLC for about $288.5 million.

Phoenix-based AmSafe makes seatbelts and airbags used on the vast majority of passenger planes. The company generated about $260 million in revenue last year, about 80% of which came from the commercial aerospace and military markets.

“This is another sizable acquisition opportunity that meets our strategic, operational and value-creation criteria,” TransDigm Chairman and Chief Executive W. Nicholas Howley said.

The latest deal also includes substantial tax benefits that TransDigm expects to realize as soon as this year. The aerospace supplier is buying AmSafe from a group controlled by private-equity firms Berkshire Partners LLC and Greenbriar Equity Group LLC.

The deal is expected to close before the end of TransDigm’s fiscal second quarter. The company plans to finance the acquisition with new senior bank debt and cash.

Shares were recently off 0.1% at $96.93 after hours Friday. The stock has climbed 27% over the past year.

SOURCE: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/transdigm-to-buy-plane-seatbelt-maker-amsafe-2012-01-21

Harvey had been chairman and chief for the last six years, having worked at the utility company and its predecessor for 25 years.

Alliant named Chief Operating Officer Patricia L. Kampling to become chief executive and chairman after he retires. She joined the company in 2005, most recently serving as operating chief and financial chief and treasurer before that.

Before joining Alliant, Kampling spent more than 20 years in various finance, regulatory and engineering positions at Exelon Corp. EXC +0.33% .

Recently, results at Alliant–an electric and natural-gas utility centered in the upper Midwest–have been uneven results because of tepid demand for power and low gas volume. In its latest quarterly results, profit fell 18% on lower electric revenue despite a revenue jump in its nonregulated business.

Shares were up nine cents at $42.99 after hours. Through the close, the stock has risen 15% in the last year, better than the market at large.

SOURCE: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/alliant-energy-ceo-to-retire-in-march-2012-01-21

“Samsung has never reviewed and never will consider plans to take over RIM,” said a Samsung Electronics spokesman.

The comment from the world’s largest technology firm by revenue came after the technology blog Boy Genius Report, which cited anonymous sources, on Tuesday said RIM and Samsung had engaged in talks and that RIM was considering selling all or part of the company to Samsung. A RIM spokeswoman declined to comment.

SOURCE: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/samsung-never-reviewed-plans-to-take-over-rim-2012-01-17

Olympus avoided automatic delisting from the TSE when it filed its earnings by a Dec. 14 deadline. But shares in the scandal-hit maker of cameras and endoscopes had remained under the risk of delisting as the TSE examined whether the company’s fraudulent accounting had “a material impact” on its shares.

The report comes after the Nikkei newspaper reported last week that the TSE is likely to designate Olympus’s stock as “on alert,” whereby the company must file annual progress reports on efforts to improve corporate governance and information disclosure.

SOURCE: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/tokyo-bourse-to-keep-olympus-shares-listed-report-2012-01-17

Shares were down 3.8% at $23.15 in after-hours trading. Through the close, the stock has fallen 33% in the last year, worse than the market at large.

Shutterfly said Thursday Chief Financial Officer Mark Rubash would depart Feb. 24 through the company’s year-end accounting close and annual audit process, at which time Chief Executive Jeff Housenbold and Chief Accounting Officer Brian Manca would assume his responsibilities while the company searches for a new CFO. Rubash is leaving to follow a personal interest in technologies with an unnamed early-stage cardiovascular-diagnostic services company.

Housenbold said Shutterfly has a “talented bench of leaders” to rely on following Rubash’s departure.

The company’s photo sharing and printing Web site has grown in popularity. However, last month Shutterfly lowered its fourth-quarter guidance, saying heavy competitor discounting was contributing to a revenue shortfall.

In the third quarter, Shutterfly’s loss widened as significantly higher sales and marketing costs overpowered a 56% jump in revenue.

SOURCE: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/shutterfly-cfo-to-depart-for-med-tech-firm-2012-01-12