ITALY
Fitch affirms credit rating
Fitch Ratings affirmed Italy’s “A-” credit rating on Friday, pointing to progress on cutting its public spending deficit, but kept the outlook negative citing the risk of possible political and policy instability following upcoming elections. “The current rating is based on the assumption that a stable new government will be formed shortly after the forthcoming elections and the government’s policies will be consistent with recent structural reforms, and further measures to enhance the economy’s competitiveness and growth potential will be adopted,” Fitch said in a statement. Fitch’s affirmation of the country’s rating comes after a tumultuous week in the country’s politics. In affirming the “A-” rating, Fitch said the country is in line to generate a surplus of 3 percent this year before debt payments.
ELECTRONICS
Samsung not employing kids
Samsung Electronics Co, the world’s largest maker of televisions and mobile phones, said supplier HTNS Shenzhen Co (深圳市赫那羅國際) has not employed underage workers, dismissing claims raised by a labor-rights group. “We have confirmed that there are no underage workers employed” at HTNS Shenzhen, the Suwon, South Korea-based company said in an e-mailed statement yesterday. Manufacturers including Samsung and Apple Inc have faced scrutiny for the way component suppliers in China treat workers. HTNS, a maker of mobile-phone covers in Huizhou City, has employed at least three girls under the legal working age of 16, according to a report by China Labor Watch. Samsung’s investigation included a meeting on Friday with the “alleged underage employee” at the supplier and a representative from the labor group, the company said in yesterday’s statement.
UNITED STATES
Output rebounds from Sandy
Factories rebounded last month from Hurricane Sandy, boosting production of cars, equipment and appliances. However, after factoring out the impact from the storm, the broader trend in manufacturing remained weak. The US Federal Reserve said on Friday that factory output increased 1.1 percent last month from October. That offset a 1 percent decline in the previous, which was blamed on the storm. Auto production jumped 4.5 percent last month, the first increase since July. Production of primary metals, wood products, electrical equipment and appliances all showed gains. Total industrial output at factories, mines and utilities rose also rose 1.1 percent last month, after a 0.7 percent decline in October.
TECHNOLOGY
Firm reaches financing deal
Alcatel-Lucent SA reached a 1.6 billion euro (US$2.1 billion) financing deal, gaining time to overhaul the French phone-equipment maker and try to sell as much as 1.5 billion euros of assets. The senior secured credit facilities, underwritten by Credit Suisse Group AG and Goldman Sachs Group Inc, will be denominated in US dollars and euros, with maturities of three-and-a-half to six years, the Paris-based company said yesterday. The funding will allow Alcatel to “aggressively” consider all options to boost profitability, improve its strategy and shore up the company’s finances, Chief Executive Officer Ben Verwaayen said in a statement.
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