AUSTRALIA
Jobless rate edges higher
The unemployment rate edged up to 5.8 percent last month, a level not seen since the global financial crisis, with the sluggish economy shedding 10,800 jobs as the mining investment boom unwinds. The Bureau of Statistics said the seasonally adjusted rate — up from 5.7 percent in July — was the result of losses in full-time and part-time employment, and is the highest since August 2009. While the headline figure was in line with forecasts, analysts had expected the economy to create 10,000 jobs, while the proportion of the population in or looking for work fell, a sign that people were giving up on job-seeking.
CHINA
Scientific planning touted
The nation must plan scientifically for “high-quality” urbanization that is human-oriented and energy-saving, a senior official at the nation’s top economic planning agency said in remarks published yesterday. National Development and Reform Commission vice chairman Zhang Xiaoqiang (張曉強) also said China’s urbanization level, at about 52 percent of the population, still has a long way to catch up with that of developed economies and even some other Asian nations. The commission had said it would unveil an urbanization plan in the second half of this year.
TELECOMS
Softbank to receive loans
Japanese mobile telecom Softbank Corp is to receive US$3 billion in loans from government-affiliated banks as it takes advantage of a drive to boost international acquisitions and investment, a report said yesterday. The news comes two months after Softbank completed the US$21.6 billion buyout of US telecom Sprint Nextel Corp, the biggest overseas acquisition ever by a Japanese firm. The Bank for International Cooperation and Development Bank of Japan is to offer the ¥300 billion (US$3 billion) of loans, the Nikkei business daily said yesterday, without citing sources.
TELECOMS
Vodafone data stolen
Mobile phone and broadband provider Vodafone Deutschland says it was the target of a large-scale data theft affecting the personal details of 2 million German customers. Spokesman Alexander Leinhos said the attack was conducted by an unidentified systems administrator who worked for a company contracted by Vodafone. Vodafone said in a statement yesterday that the stolen data included customers’ name, address, date of birth and bank details. Credit card information and passwords were not stolen, the firm said.
PAPER
Alabama mill to be closed
International Paper said on Wednesday it would close an Alabama plant amid falling demand as US consumers switch to online alternatives. The leading US global paper and paper products company said it had tried unsuccessfully to avoid closing its Courtland Mill in Alabama. The closure affects 1,100 employees. The mill is to be shut down in stages to be completed by the end of the first quarter of next year, the company said.
INTERNET
Pandora appoints ad star
Internet radio titan Pandora on Wednesday appointed a digital advertising star as its chief executive. Brian McAndrews took the helm of the Oakland, California-based firm as Apple Inc is poised to launch an iTunes Radio service on Wednesday next week. McAndrews succeeds Joe Kennedy, who announced his departure earlier this year after nine years at the helm.
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
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
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