INTERNET
Facebook in Yahoo suit
Facebook on Tuesday warned potential investors that a patent lawsuit against the company by Internet pioneer Yahoo could deliver a significant blow to its business. The world’s leading online social network amended initial public offering (IPO) paperwork with the US Securities and Exchange Commission to include the Yahoo case among risks to the company’s bottom line. Yahoo filed suit against Facebook in a US District Court in California court on March 12, accusing the startup of infringing on 10 of its patents in several areas including advertising, privacy and messaging.
FINANCE
Wiretaps in Goldman case
A US judge said on Tuesday he will allow prosecutors to play recordings of wiretapped phone conversations in the insider trading trial of former Goldman Sachs director Rajat Gupta. Judge Jed Rakoff also ruled that Gupta’s attorneys can have another two hours to question current Goldman Sachs chief executive Lloyd Blankfein in a parallel civil lawsuit against Gupta by the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
MINING
Rio Tinto scraps smelter
Resources giant Rio Tinto and a Malaysian partner have scrapped plans for a US$2 billion aluminum smelter in Borneo over problems agreeing power supply terms, its local partner said. Cahya Mata Sarawak, which owns 40 percent of the Sarawak Aluminium Company smelter development in Sarawak state, announced the termination late on Tuesday in a filing with the Malaysian stock exchange.
AUTOMAKERS
GM buys 7% of Peugeot
US auto giant General Motors has acquired a 7 percent stake in PSA Peugeot Citroen after the French company raised 1 billion euros (US$1.32 billion) via a share issue, a statement said on Tuesday. The deal, agreed as part of a wider technical tie-up, means GM is the second-largest shareholder in Peugeot after the Peugeot family, which has about 25 percent of the stock and nearly 38 percent of the voting rights.
ENTERTAINMENT
Sony trying for EMI deal
A group of investors led by Sony has offered concessions to the EU to get approval for its deal to buy part of iconic British music company EMI, the bloc’s competition regulator said on Tuesday. Sony/ATV, a joint venture between Sony Corp and the Michael Jackson estate, and a group of other investors said in November that they will buy the publishing arm of EMI Music for US$2.2 billion. The European Commission did not give details on the concessions Sony and the others had offered, but they could include the sale of certain units or a commitment to change certain business practices.
UNITED STATES
Consumer confidence steady
Americans’ rosy outlook about the US economy remains resilient as they focus on the good in the barrage of conflicting economic news. The Conference Board said on Tuesday that its Consumer Confidence Index fell slightly to 70.2. That’s down from a revised 71.6 in February — the highest level it’s been since the same month last year. Consumer confidence has made a recovery since it fell to an all-time low of 25.3 in February 2009, but the March reading is below the 90 reading that indicates a healthy economy. The index has not been near 90 since December 2007.
After several years flying high as Asia’s best Nvidia Corp proxy, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) is increasingly vying with other artificial intelligence (AI) stocks for investor attention. Stock traders are chasing a wider array of beneficiaries as mainstream usage of AI creates demand for hardware beyond the most-advanced chips TSMC makes for Nvidia. Subthemes from the deepening memory crunch to advances in robotics are also luring bids. At the same time, investment caps on single stocks are pushing funds to diversify, while retail investors long familiar with TSMC through its US depositary receipts are being offered a broader set of
TECH RELIANCE: Growth is increasingly reflecting an unequal K-shaped distribution, where technology sectors outperform and other industries struggle, an expert said Standard Chartered Bank has significantly raised its forecast for Taiwan’s economic growth to 9.5 percent this year, up from 7.6 percent previously, citing surging artificial intelligence (AI) demand driving exports, semiconductor production and investment. The upgrade reflects a sustained AI supercycle that continues to fuel demand for advanced chips and technology infrastructure, which form the backbone of Taiwan’s exports, the bank said in a report this week. “We raise our 2026 growth forecast to reflect a much stronger-than-expected first-quarter GDP figure,” Standard Chartered senior economist for greater China and Asia Tommy Wu (胡東安) said in the report. Driven largely by a 35.3 percent
Two of Taiwan’s international carriers, Starlux Airlines Co (星宇航空) and EVA Airways Corp (長榮航空), have retained the five-star airline rating awarded by international airline review organization Skytrax. Starlux was awarded the distinction for a second consecutive year, while EVA Air received it for the 11th straight year, Skytrax said in statements released yesterday and on Thursday last week, respectively. The five-star rating is considered one of the airline industry's highest honors and is awarded following professional audits of airline product and frontline service standards, Skytrax said. The ratings are based on in-depth assessments using unified global quality standards rather than customer review scores
Tokyo Electron's Taiwan unit today said in a written response that it respects the judicial process, takes the court ruling seriously and would not appeal in the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) trade secrets case. Last month, a court fined the Taiwan unit of Japan's Tokyo Electron NT$150 million (US$4.74 million) in a case involving trade secrets related to TSMC's sensitive chip technology.
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