BANKING
ECB extends swap accord
The European Central Bank (ECB) yesterday said that its current temporary bilateral liquidity swap arrangements with five other central banks would remain in place until further notice. “The Bank of Canada, the Bank of England, the Bank of Japan, the European Central Bank, the [US] Federal Reserve, and the Swiss National Bank announced on Thursday that their existing temporary bilateral liquidity swap arrangements are being converted to standing arrangements, that is, arrangements that will remain in place until further notice,” the ECB said in a statement.
GERMANY
Consumer confidence stable
German consumer confidence is holding up as economic expectations continue to point upwards in Europe’s top economy, a new poll showed yesterday. “The first survey after the parliamentary elections paints a calm picture,” market research company GfK said in a statement. “A small uptick in economic expectations suggests that the German economy will recover in the coming months, albeit slowly.” Overall, GfK’s headline household confidence index was forecast to slip to 7 percent this month from 7.1 points last month. The reading is based on responses from about 2,000 households on their expectations about pay and the economy as a whole in the coming months, as well as their willingness to spend money.
RETAIL
Starbucks profit climbs 34%
Starbucks says its profit rose 34 percent in the quarter, as the coffee chain used its loyalty program to get customers to visit more often and spend more on revamped sandwiches and other food. The Seattle-based company said global sales rose 7 percent at cafes open at least a year, including an 8 percent rise in both the US and Asia. In the region encompassing Europe, the Middle East and Africa, where the company has struggled, the figure rose 2 percent. For the quarter, Starbucks said it earned US$481.1 million, or US$0.63 per share, while revenue rose to US$3.8 billion.
ENERGY
Shell Q3 profit fell 31%
Royal Dutch Shell PLC, Europe’s largest oil firm, says third-quarter earnings fell due to weaker refining conditions, and higher exploration and production expenses. In addition, production fell 2 percent to 2.93 million barrels per day due to shutdowns of facilities for maintenance, notably in Nigeria, where Shell has suffered from attacks on pipelines. The company reported earnings on a current cost of supplies basis — which strips out the impact of fluctuations of oil prices between when it is produced and when it is sold — of US$4.25 billion, down 31 percent from US$6.15 billion in the same quarter a year ago. CEO Peter Voser said Shell’s woes are mostly short term, as he expects costs to fall next year and the company’s underlying production is growing.
ELECTRONICS
Sony books net loss
Japanese electronics giant Sony yesterday said it booked a net loss of ¥15.8 billion (US$160 million) in the six months to September and cut its full-year earnings forecast by 40 percent to ¥30 billion from ¥50 billion, citing tough times in the electronics business with tepid demand for digital cameras, PCs and televisions. However, the firm said it was in black on the operating side, with earnings up 40 percent to ¥51.1 billion on sales of ¥3.49 trillion, an 11.8 percent rise year-on-year. However, it failed to offset the negative impact of a one-time corporate tax rise, Sony said in a statement.
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
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
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) has appointed Rose Castanares, executive vice president of TSMC Arizona, as president of the subsidiary, which is responsible for carrying out massive investments by the Taiwanese tech giant in the US state, the company said in a statement yesterday. Castanares will succeed Brian Harrison as president of the Arizona subsidiary on Oct. 1 after the incumbent president steps down from the position with a transfer to the Arizona CEO office to serve as an advisor to TSMC Arizona’s chairman, the statement said. According to TSMC, Harrison is scheduled to retire on Dec. 31. Castanares joined TSMC in
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