BITCOIN
Japan mulls taxation
Japan is looking at ways to tax Bitcoin transactions, a report said yesterday, in the wake of the spectacular failure of the Tokyo-based Mt. Gox bitcoin exchange following a theft of about US$500 million. The Japanese Ministry of Finance and National Tax Agency are studying possible rules that could govern transactions in the digital currency, the Yomiuri Shimbun said. Authorities believe purchases made with bitcoin can be subject to consumption and corporate taxes, the paper said.
SOUTH KOREA
Inflation rose last month
Consumer prices rose 1 percent last month, as stable farm produce prices helped keep inflation in check, official data showed yesterday. The on-year increase in the consumer price index compared with the 1.1 percent inflation posted in January, Statistics Korea said. It was the 16th straight month that the inflation rate has stayed below the Bank of Korea’s target of 2.5 to 3.5 percent. The core inflation rate rose 1.7 percent year-on-year last month after increasing at the same pace in January.
AVIATION
Qantas reform bid stymied
The Australian government yesterday said there would be “no blank checks” to bail out national carrier Qantas, which admitted that a plan to repeal legislation restricting foreign ownership was destined to fail. The Cabinet of conservative Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott on Monday evening said it would move to change a section of the Qantas Sales Act limiting foreign ownership of the carrier to 49 percent to free up capital for the struggling airline. However, with the Labor Party and other minor opposition parties making clear that they will oppose the legislation in the Australian Senate’s upper house over fears that it will send jobs offshore, the proposal is effectively redundant.
BANKING
JPMorgan, Syncora settle
JPMorgan Chase agreed to pay US$400 million in cash to settle litigation filed by Syncora Guarantee Inc over mortgage-backed securities, the bond insurer said. Syncora said it would drop cases against JPMorgan in exchange for US$400 million, according to Syncora’s financial statement for last year filed on Friday last week. The securities sold to Syncora originated from Bear Stearns, which JPMorgan acquired in 2008 amid the financial crisis.
GAMBLING
Caesars shuffles casinos
Caesars Entertainment Corp, the largest casino owner in the US, is to sell four properties to an affiliate for US$2.2 billion, freeing up cash as the company works to restructure US$24.5 billion in debt. Caesars is selling the Bally’s, Quad and Cromwell casino hotels in Las Vegas, as well as Harrah’s New Orleans, to affiliate Caesars Growth Partners LLC, according to a statement issued on Monday. The transaction leaves Caesars Entertainment Operating Co, the company’s largest subsidiary, with more than US$3 billion in cash, some of which will go to debt reduction.
MINING
S African miners to march
The hardline South African union leading a six-week-old strike that has halted most production at top platinum mines on Monday announced plans to march on Pretoria tomorrow. The Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union, whose tens of thousands of members launched the strike seeking higher wages on Jan. 23, plan to hand a message to South African President Jacob Zuma in the capital.
Stephen Garrett, a 27-year-old graduate student, always thought he would study in China, but first the country’s restrictive COVID-19 policies made it nearly impossible and now he has other concerns. The cost is one deterrent, but Garrett is more worried about restrictions on academic freedom and the personal risk of being stranded in China. He is not alone. Only about 700 American students are studying at Chinese universities, down from a peak of nearly 25,000 a decade ago, while there are nearly 300,000 Chinese students at US schools. Some young Americans are discouraged from investing their time in China by what they see
MAJOR DROP: CEO Tim Cook, who is visiting Hanoi, pledged the firm was committed to Vietnam after its smartphone shipments declined 9.6% annually in the first quarter Apple Inc yesterday said it would increase spending on suppliers in Vietnam, a key production hub, as CEO Tim Cook arrived in the country for a two-day visit. The iPhone maker announced the news in a statement on its Web site, but gave no details of how much it would spend or where the money would go. Cook is expected to meet programmers, content creators and students during his visit, online newspaper VnExpress reported. The visit comes as US President Joe Biden’s administration seeks to ramp up Vietnam’s role in the global tech supply chain to reduce the US’ dependence on China. Images on
New apartments in Taiwan’s major cities are getting smaller, while old apartments are increasingly occupied by older people, many of whom live alone, government data showed. The phenomenon has to do with sharpening unaffordable property prices and an aging population, property brokers said. Apartments with one bedroom that are two years old or older have gained a noticeable presence in the nation’s six special municipalities as well as Hsinchu county and city in the past five years, Evertrust Rehouse Co (永慶房產集團) found, citing data from the government’s real-price transaction platform. In Taipei, apartments with one bedroom accounted for 19 percent of deals last
US CONSCULTANT: The US Department of Commerce’s Ursula Burns is a rarely seen US government consultant to be put forward to sit on the board, nominated as an independent director Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, yesterday nominated 10 candidates for its new board of directors, including Ursula Burns from the US Department of Commerce. It is rare that TSMC has nominated a US government consultant to sit on its board. Burns was nominated as one of seven independent directors. She is vice chair of the department’s Advisory Council on Supply Chain Competitiveness. Burns is to stand for election at TSMC’s annual shareholders’ meeting on June 4 along with the rest of the candidates. TSMC chairman Mark Liu (劉德音) was not on the list after in December last