■COMPUTERS
HP’s purchase of 3Com OK’d
The European Commission on Friday cleared the purchase by US computer giant Hewlett-Packard (HP) of networking company 3Com for US$2.7 billion, saying it would not harm competition in Europe. “The commission concluded that the concentration would be unlikely to raise competition concerns,” the EU’s competition watchdog said in a statement. “The commission’s investigation confirmed that the merged company would continue to face a number of global and effective competitors giving customers the choice from a range of alternative providers.”
■AVIATION
AA, JAL seek immunity
American Airlines (AA) and Japan Airlines (JAL) on Friday asked US authorities for antitrust immunity to boost flights between North America and Asia, the airlines said in a statement. AA and JAL, which is now in a government-structured bankruptcy restructuring, said they had asked the US Department of Transportation for antitrust immunity so they could “forge a closer relationship.” The move would allow them to implement a joint business agreement governing the operation of their flights between North America and Asia, they said.
■FINANCE
IMF signs borrowing pacts
The IMF said on Friday that it had signed agreements to borrow a total of US$7.2 billion from three eurozone members — Belgium, Slovakia and Malta. The agreements are part of the EU’s pledge last March, as the global economic crisis raged, to boost IMF lending capacity, the fund said in a statement. The EU initially had promised to lend up to 75 billion euros, at the time equal to about US$100 billion, then later expanded it by 50 billion euros, the IMF said.
■AUTOMOBILES
EIB approves loan to Saab
The European Investment Bank (EIB) approved a 400 million euro (US$542.88 million) loan on Friday to car maker Saab Automobile AB, clearing the way for Spyker Cars of the Netherlands to buy the brand from General Motors Co. Sweden offered to guarantee the loan on the condition that Saab uses it to develop environmentally friendly cars. The guarantee was approved by the European Commission last week.
■BANKING
Japanese banks can’t agree
Mid-sized Japanese lenders Shinsei Bank and Aozora Bank are likely to scrap plans to merge by October because of differences over business strategy, the Nikkei Shimbun said yesterday. Shinsei and Aozora, which have been hit hard by the global financial crisis, announced in July a planned merger of equals that would create Japan’s sixth-biggest commercial bank. But the negotiations eventually ground to a halt, with Shinsei seeking to expand its retail operations while Aozora is more keen on working with regional banks.
■LOVE
Special security for lovers
A British airport is entering into the Valentine’s spirit by offering private pre-flight searches for those planning to surprise their partners on holiday with an engagement ring. Manchester, which earlier this month became one of two UK airports to introduce body scanners, said that in previous years marriage proposals had risked being ruined when security staff revealed hidden engagement rings during searches. Passengers traveling through Monday can whisper “Be my Valentine” to security staff to take advantage of a private search behind a screen, the airport said.
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
Among the rows of vibrators, rubber torsos and leather harnesses at a Chinese sex toys exhibition in Shanghai this weekend, the beginnings of an artificial intelligence (AI)-driven shift in the industry quietly pulsed. China manufactures about 70 percent of the world’s sex toys, most of it the “hardware” on display at the fair — whether that be technicolor tentacled dildos or hyper-realistic personalized silicone dolls. Yet smart toys have been rising in popularity for some time. Many major European and US brands already offer tech-enhanced products that can enable long-distance love, monitor well-being and even bring people one step closer to
RECORD-BREAKING: TSMC’s net profit last quarter beat market expectations by expanding 8.9% and it was the best first-quarter profit in the chipmaker’s history Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), which counts Nvidia Corp as a key customer, yesterday said that artificial intelligence (AI) server chip revenue is set to more than double this year from last year amid rising demand. The chipmaker expects the growth momentum to continue in the next five years with an annual compound growth rate of 50 percent, TSMC chief executive officer C.C. Wei (魏哲家) told investors yesterday. By 2028, AI chips’ contribution to revenue would climb to about 20 percent from a percentage in the low teens, Wei said. “Almost all the AI innovators are working with TSMC to address the
Malaysia’s leader yesterday announced plans to build a massive semiconductor design park, aiming to boost the Southeast Asian nation’s role in the global chip industry. A prominent player in the semiconductor industry for decades, Malaysia accounts for an estimated 13 percent of global back-end manufacturing, according to German tech giant Bosch. Now it wants to go beyond production and emerge as a chip design powerhouse too, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said. “I am pleased to announce the largest IC (integrated circuit) Design Park in Southeast Asia, that will house world-class anchor tenants and collaborate with global companies such as Arm [Holdings PLC],”