TAIWAN
National debt rises
The average national debt shouldered by Taiwanese has reached NT$210,000 (US$7,297), up NT$1,000 from the end of March, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. However, last month’s figure was NT$1,000 lower than the debt-level recorded at the end of February, the ministry said. The per capita value is calculated from the NT$4.63 trillion in outstanding central government loans with a maturity of more than one year, as well as NT$245 billion in short-term debt with a maturity of one year or less. The government has highlighted national debt data since setting up a “national debt clock” in December.
TELECOMS
Android takes US top spot
Smartphones powered by Google software widened their lead on BlackBerry handsets in the US market during the first quarter, industry tracker comScore reported on Friday. Android smartphones dethroned BlackBerry in January by capturing 31.2 percent of the US market and that share grew to 34.7 percent by the end of March. BlackBerry ended March with 27.1 percent of the US market, while Apple’s iPhones commanded 25.5 percent of the market, according to comScore.
RETAIL
Unilver to buy hair company
Unilever has reached an agreement with the US Department of Justice that allows its US$3.7 billion acquisition of hair care company Alberto-Culver Co to move forward. Federal regulators said that the deal posed antitrust issues by reducing competition in the market for low-price shampoo, conditioner and hairspray. Under the agreement announced on Friday, Alberto-Culver will divest its VO5 hair care brand and Unilver its Rave brand. The deal is now expected to close on Tuesday.
VENEZUELA
PVSA production hit
State oil company Petroleos de Venezuela SA (PVSA) says the failure of an air circulation system has affected production at the country’s largest refinery, but the problem will not affect oil shipments. PVSA says the problem prompted the shutdown of some units at the Paraguana Refining Complex in the northwestern state of Falcon. The complex has the capacity to process about 900,000 barrels of crude oil a day and produces 200,000 barrels of gasoline daily.
ENERGY
Ethanol production boosted
Brazilian state-controlled energy giant Petrobras will boost its production of ethanol as part of a government effort to contain fuel prices, Energy Minister Edison Lobao announced on Friday. “We are going to make rapid advances to produce [an additional] 10, 12, 15 percent in three to four years,” Lobao told reporters. “With this, Petrobras will be transformed into an important factor in the supply and pricing of ethanol.” According to the official, Petrobras currently accounts for 5 percent of total ethanol production in the country, but expects to be the largest producer by 2017.
INVESTMENT
Buffett profits down
Warren Buffett’s conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway Inc reported a smaller profit for the first quarter, as reinsurance losses from the March 11 earthquake in Japan dragged down results. Berkshire reported a net profit of US$1.51 billion, or US$917 per Class A share, compared with a profit of US$3.63 billion, or US$2,272 per Class A share, a year earlier. The conglomerate reported US$41.18 billion in cash and cash equivalents at the end of the quarter.
ISSUES: Gogoro has been struggling with ballooning losses and was recently embroiled in alleged subsidy fraud, using Chinese-made components instead of locally made parts Gogoro Inc (睿能創意), the nation’s biggest electric scooter maker, yesterday said that its chairman and CEO Horace Luke (陸學森) has resigned amid chronic losses and probes into the company’s alleged involvement in subsidy fraud. The board of directors nominated Reuntex Group (潤泰集團) general counsel Tamon Tseng (曾夢達) as the company’s new chairman, Gogoro said in a statement. Ruentex is Gogoro’s biggest stakeholder. Gogoro Taiwan general manager Henry Chiang (姜家煒) is to serve as acting CEO during the interim period, the statement said. Luke’s departure came as a bombshell yesterday. As a company founder, he has played a key role in pushing for the
China has claimed a breakthrough in developing homegrown chipmaking equipment, an important step in overcoming US sanctions designed to thwart Beijing’s semiconductor goals. State-linked organizations are advised to use a new laser-based immersion lithography machine with a resolution of 65 nanometers or better, the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) said in an announcement this month. Although the note does not specify the supplier, the spec marks a significant step up from the previous most advanced indigenous equipment — developed by Shanghai Micro Electronics Equipment Group Co (SMEE, 上海微電子) — which stood at about 90 nanometers. MIIT’s claimed advances last
CROSS-STRAIT TENSIONS: The US company could switch orders from TSMC to alternative suppliers, but that would lower chip quality, CEO Jensen Huang said Nvidia Corp CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳), whose products have become the hottest commodity in the technology world, on Wednesday said that the scramble for a limited amount of supply has frustrated some customers and raised tensions. “The demand on it is so great, and everyone wants to be first and everyone wants to be most,” he told the audience at a Goldman Sachs Group Inc technology conference in San Francisco. “We probably have more emotional customers today. Deservedly so. It’s tense. We’re trying to do the best we can.” Huang’s company is experiencing strong demand for its latest generation of chips, called
GLOBAL ECONOMY: Policymakers have a choice of a small 25 basis-point cut or a bold cut of 50 basis points, which would help the labor market, but might reignite inflation The US Federal Reserve is gearing up to announce its first interest rate cut in more than four years on Wednesday, with policymakers expected to debate how big a move to make less than two months before the US presidential election. Senior officials at the US central bank including Fed Chairman Jerome Powell have in recent weeks indicated that a rate cut is coming this month, as inflation eases toward the bank’s long-term target of two percent, and the labor market continues to cool. The Fed, which has a dual mandate from the US Congress to act independently to ensure