SOLAR ENERGY
US tariff decision delayed
The US Department of Commerce said it has again delayed its decision on additional tariffs for Chinese solar-equipment imports. A preliminary determination will be made on March 2, Tim Truman, a department spokesman, said on Friday. The decision had been scheduled for Feb. 13. The delay gives the department “sufficient time to conduct a comprehensive investigation and to complete a thorough and fair analysis of the subsidies at issue,” Gordon Brinser, the president of SolarWorld AG’s US unit, said in a statement issued by the Coalition for American Solar Manufacturing. The US International Trade Commission is investigating possible economic harm to SolarWorld from Chinese imports, while the department determines the penalty for companies that illegally dump products.
BELGIUM
IMF declares recession
The IMF said on Friday that Belgium was already in recession and that it needed both its own government and Europe’s institutions to take action to help. “With fiscal tightening across Europe, the economic outlook is challenging,” the IMF said in a new report on the country’s economy. “A recession in Belgium is already underway and real GDP is expected to stagnate in 2012, followed by a slow recovery in 2013.” It said Belgium’s economy was “highly vulnerable” to further eurozone turmoil, in part because of its high public debt and the international exposure of its financial sector. “Downside risks to the outlook are significant,” the IMF said, though it credited high household savings as a buffer against market shocks starting elsewhere. While the government is “off to a good start” in trying to close its fiscal gap, the IMF said, “continued persistence in its full implementation is crucial.”
AVIATION
Spanair halts operations
Spanair, the Spanish airline that halted operations on Friday night, filed for bankruptcy, according to its former owner, SAS AB. “A lack of financial visibility for the coming months” forced the Spanish carrier to cease operating, with its final flight landing at about 10pm, Spanair said in an e-mailed statement late on Friday. Qatar Airways Ltd pulled out of talks about a possible bid, prompting Spanair’s board to meet on Friday to consider the company’s future, a spokesman for the Spanish airline said. SAS, which sold 80 percent of Spanair in March 2009 to a group of investors and now holds about 11 percent, said in a statement it would write down the value of its remaining stake by 1.7 billion kronor (US$252 million) after Spanair filed for bankruptcy. The Spanish carrier’s statement didn’t mention a bankruptcy filing, saying “the appropriate next steps will be taken as soon as possible.”
INDUSTRY
Slow growth hits Honeywell
Honeywell International Inc, the maker of turbochargers, digital flight controls and hardhats, predicted first-quarter profit that trailed analysts’ estimates as the global economy weakens. Earnings will rise as much as 11 percent to US$0.93 to US$0.98 a share, the Morris Township, New Jersey-based company said on Friday. Analysts anticipated US$1, the average of predictions compiled by Bloomberg. Last quarter, profit beat estimates by US$0.01 a share amid higher commercial-aerospace equipment sales. Demand for Honeywell’s products is being hurt by a slowing economy, especially in Europe, where the sovereign-debt crisis is weighing on the sales of industrial companies such as General Electric Co and United Technologies Corp.
GREECE
Budget controls considered
Germany is pushing for Greece to relinquish control over its budget policy to European institutions as part of discussions over a second rescue package, a European source said on Friday. “There are internal discussions within the euro group and proposals, one of which comes from Germany, on how to constructively treat country aid programs that are continuously off track, whether this can simply be ignored or whether we say that’s enough,” the source said. The source added that under the proposals European institutions already operating in Greece should be given “certain decisionmaking powers” over fiscal policy. “This could be carried out even more stringently through external expertise,” the source said. The German demands for greater control over Greek budget policy come amid intense talks to finalize a second 130 billion euro (US$172 billion) rescue package for Greece, which has repeatedly failed to meet the fiscal targets set out for it by its international lenders.
AUTOMAKERS
Tax gain boosts Ford
Ford Motor Co posted fourth-quarter profit that fell short of analysts’ estimates as overseas operations dragged down results while a one-time tax gain resulted in the company’s biggest annual profit since 1998. Ford reported its 11th consecutive profitable quarter, with net income of US$13.6 billion, or US$3.40 a share, compared with US$190 million, or US$0.05, a year earlier. Excluding one-time items, the profit was US$0.20 a share, trailing the US$0.25 average estimate of 15 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. Net income was boosted by a non-cash gain of US$12.4 billion from eliminating a valuation allowance against deferred tax benefits, Ford said.
INTERNET
Twitter censorship under fire
Twitter, a tool of choice for dissidents and activists around the world, found itself the target of global outrage on Friday after unveiling plans to allow country-specific censorship of tweets that might break local laws. Twitter insisted its commitment to free speech remains firm and sought to explain the nuances of its policy, while critics — in a barrage of tweets — proposed a Twitter boycott and demanded that the censorship initiative be scrapped. “This is very bad news,” tweeted Egyptian activist Mahmoud Salem, who operates under the name Sandmonkey. Later, he wrote: “Is it safe to say that #Twitter is selling us out?” In China, where activists have embraced Twitter, even though it’s blocked inside the country, artist and activist Ai Weiwei (艾未未) tweeted in response to the news: “If Twitter censors, I’ll stop tweeting.” One often-relayed tweet bore the headline of a Forbes magazine technology blog item: “Twitter Commits Social Suicide.”
PRECIOUS METALS
Gold prices climb
Gold climbed to a seven-week high as the US dollar weakened after EU Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn said Greece was close to reaching agreement with its creditors. Greece and its creditors are haggling over the terms of an accord to reduce the country’s borrowings. Gold prices jumped 4.3 percent this week, while the US dollar retreated 1.7 percent, mainly because of the US Federal Reserve’s pledge to keep interest rates low until at least late 2014. Gold futures for April delivery gained 0.3 percent to settle at US$1,735.40 an ounce at 1:37pm on the Comex in New York on Friday, the highest closing price since Dec. 7.
BUSINESS UPDATE: The iPhone assembler said operations outlook is expected to show quarter-on-quarter and year-on-year growth for the second quarter Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) yesterday reported strong growth in sales last month, potentially raising expectations for iPhone sales while artificial intelligence (AI)-related business booms. The company, which assembles the majority of Apple Inc’s smartphones, reported a 19.03 percent rise in monthly sales to NT$510.9 billion (US$15.78 billion), from NT$429.22 billion in the same period last year. On a monthly basis, sales rose 14.16 percent, it said. The company in a statement said that last month’s revenue was a record-breaking April performance. Hon Hai, known also as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團), assembles most iPhones, but the company is diversifying its business to
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE: The chipmaker last month raised its capital spending by 28 percent for this year to NT$32 billion from a previous estimate of NT$25 billion Contract chipmaker Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp (力積電子) yesterday launched a new 12-inch fab, tapping into advanced chip-on-wafer-on-substrate (CoWoS) packaging technology to support rising demand for artificial intelligence (AI) devices. Powerchip is to offer interposers, one of three parts in CoWoS packaging technology, with shipments scheduled for the second half of this year, Powerchip chairman Frank Huang (黃崇仁) told reporters on the sidelines of a fab inauguration ceremony in the Tongluo Science Park (銅鑼科學園區) in Miaoli County yesterday. “We are working with customers to supply CoWoS-related business, utilizing part of this new fab’s capacity,” Huang said, adding that Powerchip intended to bridge
Qualcomm Inc, the world’s biggest seller of smartphone processors, gave an upbeat forecast for sales and profit in the current period, suggesting demand for handsets is increasing after a two-year slump. Revenue in the three months ended in June will be US$8.8 billion to US$9.6 billion, the company said in a statement Wednesday. Excluding certain items, earnings will be US$2.15 to US$2.35 a share. Analysts had projected sales of US$9.08 billion and earnings of US$2.16 a share. The outlook signals that the smartphone market has begun to bounce back, tracking with Qualcomm’s forecast that demand would gradually recover this year. The San
Clambering hand-over-hand, sweat dripping into his eyes, a durian laborer expertly slices a cumbersome fruit from a tree before tossing it down to land with a soft thump in his colleague’s waiting arms about 15m below. Among Thailand’s most famous and lucrative exports, the pungent “king of fruits” is as distinctive in its smell as its spiky green-brown carapace, and has been farmed in the kingdom for hundreds of years. However, a vicious heat wave engulfing Southeast Asia has resulted in smaller yields and spiraling costs, with growers and sellers increasingly panicked as global warming damages the industry. “This year is a crisis,”