CREDIT RATINGS
Moody’s cuts Argentina rating
Moody’s lowered its credit rating for Argentina by one step on Monday, citing a sharp fall in the country’s reserves and inconsistent economic policies. Moody’s cut the rating to “Caa1” from “B3,” putting it in the mid-range of “speculative” or junk bonds. The agency also cut its outlook for Argentina to negative from stable — a warning that the country could face another downgrade. Moody’s said a sharp fall in the government’s foreign exchange reserves, to US$27.5 billion from US$52.7 billion in 2011, increases the risk that Buenos Aires “may not meet its foreign-currency debt service obligations.”
RAIL
Bombardier wins SA bid
Bombardier Inc is one of four companies picked to supply a total of 1,064 locomotives to South Africa’s state-owned freight rail system. Transnet Freight Rail said on Monday the total contract is worth about US$5 billion. Bombardier’s announcement did not disclose how much its share of the contract is worth, but a spokesman said the company is to supply 240 electric locomotives. In total, Transnet says it is buying 599 electric locomotives from Bombardier and CSR Zhuzhou Electric and 465 diesel engines are to be supplied by General Electric and CNR Rolling Stock.
HOUSING
Australian market probed
Foreign investment in Australia’s housing market is to be examined by a national parliamentary committee, its chair said on Monday, following a study that said Chinese investors are squeezing out local buyers. The Australian House Standing Committee on Economics inquiry into affordable housing is to probe the foreign investment framework to see whether it helps increase housing stock, and whether it is driving up prices. Investment bank Credit Suisse this month estimated that Chinese investors could pour A$40 billion (US$36 billion) into Australia’s residential property over the next seven years.
ENERGY
Chesapeake to spin off unit
Chesapeake Energy, the second-largest US natural-gas producer, said on Monday it has notified regulators of a plan to spin off its oilfield-services subsidiary. The wholly owned unit of the struggling energy company, Chesapeake Oilfield Operating, would have an initial public offering on the NYSE, according to the preliminary information the firm filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
ENERGY
Cairn under tax probe
London-listed oil and gas explorer Cairn Energy said it would halt a US$300 million share buyback program while Indian tax authorities assess income taxes dating back seven years. The company made the announcement yesterday as it reported a loss last year of US$556 million after costs for unsuccessful exploration in Morocco and the North Sea soared. Analysts said the company had already completed around one-third of its US$300 million share buyback program.
AUTOMAKERS
Gernan court clears Porsche
A German court on Monday threw out claims from a number of institutional investors against Porsche in connection with its failed attempt to take over carmaker Volkswagen (VW) in 2008. Twenty-three 23 hedge funds, including Viking Global Investors, Glenhill Capital and Greenhill, had been seeking a total 1.36 billion euros (US$1.9 billion) in damages.
Taiwan Transport and Storage Corp (TTS, 台灣通運倉儲) yesterday unveiled its first electric tractor unit — manufactured by Volvo Trucks — in a ceremony in Taipei, and said the unit would soon be used to transport cement produced by Taiwan Cement Corp (TCC, 台灣水泥). Both TTS and TCC belong to TCC International Holdings Ltd (台泥國際集團). With the electric tractor unit, the Taipei-based cement firm would become the first in Taiwan to use electric vehicles to transport construction materials. TTS chairman Koo Kung-yi (辜公怡), Volvo Trucks vice president of sales and marketing Johan Selven, TCC president Roman Cheng (程耀輝) and Taikoo Motors Group
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
RECORD-BREAKING: TSMC’s net profit last quarter beat market expectations by expanding 8.9% and it was the best first-quarter profit in the chipmaker’s history Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), which counts Nvidia Corp as a key customer, yesterday said that artificial intelligence (AI) server chip revenue is set to more than double this year from last year amid rising demand. The chipmaker expects the growth momentum to continue in the next five years with an annual compound growth rate of 50 percent, TSMC chief executive officer C.C. Wei (魏哲家) told investors yesterday. By 2028, AI chips’ contribution to revenue would climb to about 20 percent from a percentage in the low teens, Wei said. “Almost all the AI innovators are working with TSMC to address the
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],”