CANADA
Firms urged to raise wages
The government said on Friday that companies should raise wages to encourage more people to apply for unfilled jobs, saying the freeze it imposed this week on restaurants hiring temporary foreign workers is a wake-up call for all employers. The moratorium is on foreign hires in food-service businesses only. It follows media reports that McDonald’s restaurants turned away qualified locals, while using the Temporary Foreign Worker Program to fill job openings. The program was designed to let employers go outside the country for new hires when unable to find locals to do the job.
AUTOMAKERS
Ford posts lower profit
Ford Motor Co posted a lower-than-expected first-quarter profit on Friday as the No. 2 US automaker reported US$400 million in higher warranty costs in North America, sending shares down more than 3 percent. Across the auto industry, safety recalls and warranty costs have received increasing attention as cars have become more complex and loaded with technology, Ford chief financial officer Bob Shanks said. While Ford adjusts its warranty reserves every quarter, the total was larger in the first quarter because the company has dealt with more field service actions, such as recalls and addressing customer complaints over the past two years, Shanks said. Net income fell 39 percent to US$989 million, or US$0.24 cents a share, from US$1.61 billion, or US$0.40 a share, the year before.
RATINGS
Agencies upbeat on Europe
Agencies gave a broadly upbeat assessment of the eurozone’s creditworthiness on Friday, contrasting sharply with the reviews of recent years and reflecting growing confidence in the region’s fiscal and economic recovery. On a day of credit updates scheduled for three of the region’s top four economies, Standard & Poor’s affirmed its ratings on France and Fitch raised its outlook on Italy and upgraded Spain. S&P also raised its rating on Cyprus, suggesting the recovery is spreading to the peripheral regions left most exposed to the eurozone’s financial crisis. The upgrade was its second of the bailed-out country, since it came close to financial collapse last year. Fitch improved by one notch Spain’s sovereign credit rating to “BBB+,” three steps above “junk.” Fitch also boosted its outlook on Italy to stable, with the sovereign rating affirmed at “BBB+.” That followed an upgrade earlier this month of its outlook on bailed-out Portugal to positive from negative.
AUTOMAKERS
Peugeot injection approved
Shareholders of French auto giant Peugeot Citroen on Friday approved a capital injection of 3 billion euros (US$4.15 billion) in a move that hands partial control to Chinese automaker Dongfeng Motor (東風汽車) and the French state. Under the deal, Dongfeng and the French state would contribute 1.048 billion euros in capital. The second part of the injected funds reaching 1.952 billion euros would come from all of the group’s shareholders, including the French state and Dongfeng. France and Chinese state-controlled Dongfeng would then hold 14 percent of the company each, on par with the Peugeot family.
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
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
FACTORY SHIFT: While Taiwan produces most of the world’s AI servers, firms are under pressure to move manufacturing amid geopolitical tensions Lenovo Group Ltd (聯想) started building artificial intelligence (AI) servers in India’s south, the latest boon for the rapidly growing country’s push to become a high-tech powerhouse. The company yesterday said it has started making the large, powerful computers in Pondicherry, southeastern India, moving beyond products such as laptops and smartphones. The Chinese company would also build out its facilities in the Bangalore region, including a research lab with a focus on AI. Lenovo’s plans mark another win for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who tries to attract more technology investment into the country. While India’s tense relationship with China has suffered setbacks