TECHNOLOGY
ITC backs Motorola claim
The US International Trade Commission (ITC) on Tuesday backed a claim that Apple violated patented Motorola Mobility technology in iPads and iPhones that can connect to 3G wireless networks. Administrative law judge Thomas Pender ruled that the violation would qualify to have the offending gadgets banned from export into the US. However, Pender sided with Apple regarding three other patent violation claims by Motorola. A final ruling from the quasi-judicial federal agency is expected later this year.
BANKING
Credit Suisse profit falls
Credit Suisse Group AG, the second-largest Swiss bank, reported a 96 percent decline in first-quarter profit after booking accounting charges related to its own debt and costs for bonuses last year. Net income fell to 44 million Swiss francs (US$48 million) from SF1.14 billion in the year-earlier period, the Zurich-based bank said in a statement yesterday. CEO Brady Dougan said the bank benefited from an “improved environment” in the quarter and cut risk-weighted assets at the investment bank by more than previously targeted.
ENGINEERING
Siemens profit falls 60%
German engineering firm Siemens AG yesterday said its fiscal second-quarter net profit fell more than 60 percent from 2.84 billion euros (US$3.74 billion) to 1.02 billion euros from a year earlier. Munich-based Siemens said a writedown of 640 million euros on its stake in its NSN communications division and charges of 278 million euros in its power transmission division diluted its earnings.
ELECTRONICS
LG back in the black
LG Electronics Inc posted its first profit in three quarters, beating expectations thanks to a revival in its mobile business and demand for high-end TVs. The South Korean company yesterday reported a net profit of 243 billion won (US$215 million) for the January-March period. It had a loss of 15.8 billion won a year earlier. Overall sales fell 7 percent from a year earlier to 12.2 trillion won, but increased smartphone sales and strong demand for premium TVs in its home market shored up its earnings. Its quarterly operating profit more than tripled from a year earlier to 448 billion won.
STEEL
Nippon Steel sues POSCO
Nippon Steel Corp, Japan’s largest steelmaker, yesterday said it sued POSCO in Tokyo’s District Court seeking ¥100 billion (US$1.2 billion) in damages from the South Korean company for allegedly using trade secrets acquired illegally by a former employee. It also sued the former employee and a subsidiary in the US for infringements of certain patents, it said, without providing further details of that lawsuit. POSCO disputes the claims, describing the lawsuit as “disappointing.”
HOME APPLIANCES
Electrolux profit up 22%
Swedish home appliance maker Electrolux AB yesterday said first-quarter net profit jumped 22 percent to 560 million kronor (US$83 million) as it gained ground in emerging markets. The Stockholm-based company said that revenue grew by a record 10 percent in the first three months of the year to 25.8 billion kronor, from 23.4 billion kronor a year earlier. CEO Keith McLoughlin gave a positive outlook, saying the second quarter was expected to be even better and that the second half of the year would be stronger than the first six months.
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
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],”
TRANSFORMATION: Taiwan is now home to the largest Google hardware research and development center outside of the US, thanks to the nation’s economic policies President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday attended an event marking the opening of Google’s second hardware research and development (R&D) office in Taiwan, which was held at New Taipei City’s Banciao District (板橋). This signals Taiwan’s transformation into the world’s largest Google hardware research and development center outside of the US, validating the nation’s economic policy in the past eight years, she said. The “five plus two” innovative industries policy, “six core strategic industries” initiative and infrastructure projects have grown the national industry and established resilient supply chains that withstood the COVID-19 pandemic, Tsai said. Taiwan has improved investment conditions of the domestic economy
Sales in the retail, and food and beverage sectors last month continued to rise, increasing 0.7 percent and 13.6 percent respectively from a year earlier, setting record highs for the month of March, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday. Sales in the wholesale sector also grew last month by 4.6 annually, mainly due to the business opportunities for emerging applications related to artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing technologies, the ministry said in a report. The ministry forecast that retail, and food and beverage sales this month would retain their growth momentum as the former would benefit from Tomb Sweeping Day