The yen had the biggest weekly gain versus the euro in a month as lower-than-forecast economic data fueled concern Europe’s debt crisis was weighing on growth, dampening appetite for higher-risk assets.
The US dollar erased a loss versus the euro after an index of US consumer confidence fell to the lowest level since 1980. The Swiss franc dropped versus the 17-nation currency for a second day after reaching a record high on Tuesday. Industrial output fell in Europe, Greece’s economy contracted and the French economy stalled. The Canadian dollar tumbled.
“It’s been a week of very volatile foreign-exchange moves, and I don’t think we’re out of the woods,” said Vassili Serebriakov, a currency strategist at Wells Fargo & Co in New York. “The sentiment is a little bit improved at the end of the week, but we haven’t seen the end of safe-haven pressure on the yen, the franc and the dollar.”
The yen rose 0.1 percent to ¥109.3 to the euro at 5pm on Friday in New York, from ¥109.42 on Thursday, and posted a weekly gain of 2.4 percent, the most since the five days ended July 15. The US dollar fell 0.2 percent to at ¥76.72, compared with ¥76.84 on Thursday and the post-World War II low of ¥76.25 reached on March 17. The euro rose 0.1 percent to US$1.4248, from US$1.4241.
The Swiss franc depreciated 2.2 percent to 1.1086 per euro, following Thursday’s plunge of more than 5 percent, and weakened 2.1 percent against the US dollar to 77.79 centimes. The franc rallied to a record 1.0075 per euro on Tuesday.
Switzerland’s currency tumbled the most against the euro on Thursday since the shared currency’s 1999 debut after Swiss National Bank vice president Thomas Jordan was reported as saying a temporary peg to the euro would be legal as policymakers try to stem the currency’s gains.
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
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) has appointed Rose Castanares, executive vice president of TSMC Arizona, as president of the subsidiary, which is responsible for carrying out massive investments by the Taiwanese tech giant in the US state, the company said in a statement yesterday. Castanares will succeed Brian Harrison as president of the Arizona subsidiary on Oct. 1 after the incumbent president steps down from the position with a transfer to the Arizona CEO office to serve as an advisor to TSMC Arizona’s chairman, the statement said. According to TSMC, Harrison is scheduled to retire on Dec. 31. Castanares joined TSMC in
EUROPE ON HOLD: Among a flurry of announcements, Intel said it would postpone new factories in Germany and Poland, but remains committed to its US expansion Intel Corp chief executive officer Pat Gelsinger has landed Amazon.com Inc’s Amazon Web Services (AWS) as a customer for the company’s manufacturing business, potentially bringing work to new plants under construction in the US and boosting his efforts to turn around the embattled chipmaker. Intel and AWS are to coinvest in a custom semiconductor for artificial intelligence computing — what is known as a fabric chip — in a “multiyear, multibillion-dollar framework,” Intel said in a statement on Monday. The work would rely on Intel’s 18A process, an advanced chipmaking technology. Intel shares rose more than 8 percent in late trading after the
FACTORY SHIFT: While Taiwan produces most of the world’s AI servers, firms are under pressure to move manufacturing amid geopolitical tensions Lenovo Group Ltd (聯想) started building artificial intelligence (AI) servers in India’s south, the latest boon for the rapidly growing country’s push to become a high-tech powerhouse. The company yesterday said it has started making the large, powerful computers in Pondicherry, southeastern India, moving beyond products such as laptops and smartphones. The Chinese company would also build out its facilities in the Bangalore region, including a research lab with a focus on AI. Lenovo’s plans mark another win for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who tries to attract more technology investment into the country. While India’s tense relationship with China has suffered setbacks