AUSTRALIA
Jobless rate holds steady
The nation’s unemployment rate remained steady at 5.8 percent for the third straight month last month, government data showed yesterday, with the total number of jobs falling in a mixed outlook for the economy. The figures from the Bureau of Statistics reporting 10,000 new positions created contrasted with analysts’ expectations of a rise in the jobless rate to 5.9 percent.
NEW ZEALAND
Rate hike targets inflation
The central bank yesterday lifted interest rates for the third time this year, saying the hike was needed to contain inflation. The Reserve Bank of New Zealand raised the official cash rate (OCR) 0.25 points to 3.25 percent in a move that was widely expected in financial markets. Reserve Bank of New Zealand Governor Graeme Wheeler said inflationary pressures were set to increase and further OCR rises may be needed to keep price rises close to the bank’s target of 2 percent.
SOUTH KOREA
Bank maintains key rates
The central bank yesterday kept key interest rates unchanged at 2.5 percent for the 13th consecutive month as Asia’s fourth-largest economy shows signs of steady recovery. First-quarter GDP grew 3.9 percent year-on-year, following a 3.7 percent gain in the previous quarter. The Bank of Korea has forecast the economy will grow 4 percent this year and 4.2 percent next year.
AUTOMAKERS
Airbags spark US inquiry
US safety regulators are investigating whether 1.1 million vehicles from five automakers have air bags that could hurt people in a crash. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says it opened a probe on Wednesday after getting six reports of air bags rupturing. Three people were hurt when struck by parts, but the injuries were not life-threatening. Vehicles from 2002 through 2006 made by Honda, Nissan, Mazda, Chrysler and Toyota are being investigated.
OUTSOURCING
Indian firm names CEO
Indian outsourcing giant Infosys Ltd yesterday announced a new chief executive who is to take over in August. Infosys, which is based in Bangalore, said Vishal Sikka, previously with German software giant SAP, would take the helm. The company also said N. R. Narayana Murthy, the cofounder who returned as executive chairman in June last year, would step down from his current role tomorrow.
BANKING
London yuan clearer named
China Construction Bank (中國建設銀行), China’s second-largest lender, has been selected to become the first clearing service for yuan trading in London, the Financial Times reported, citing people close to the decision. The clearing bank is expected to help secure London’s position as a global center for foreign-exchange trading, as financial capitals around the world race to secure a slice of the fast-growing offshore yuan trade.
INTERNET
Amazon to stream music
US online giant Amazon is preparing to launch a streaming music service as early as this week, the New York Times reported on Wednesday. The report said Sony Entertainment and Warner Music had agreed to terms with Amazon, and the service would have a more limited catalogue than some rivals, but would be offered for free and without advertising for customers of Amazon Prime.
DECOUPLING? In a sign of deeper US-China technology decoupling, Apple has held initial talks about using Baidu’s generative AI technology in its iPhones, the Wall Street Journal said China has introduced guidelines to phase out US microprocessors from Intel Corp and Advanced Micro Devices Inc (AMD) from government PCs and servers, the Financial Times reported yesterday. The procurement guidance also seeks to sideline Microsoft Corp’s Windows operating system and foreign-made database software in favor of domestic options, the report said. Chinese officials have begun following the guidelines, which were unveiled in December last year, the report said. They order government agencies above the township level to include criteria requiring “safe and reliable” processors and operating systems when making purchases, the newspaper said. The US has been aiming to boost domestic semiconductor
Nvidia Corp earned its US$2.2 trillion market cap by producing artificial intelligence (AI) chips that have become the lifeblood powering the new era of generative AI developers from start-ups to Microsoft Corp, OpenAI and Google parent Alphabet Inc. Almost as important to its hardware is the company’s nearly 20 years’ worth of computer code, which helps make competition with the company nearly impossible. More than 4 million global developers rely on Nvidia’s CUDA software platform to build AI and other apps. Now a coalition of tech companies that includes Qualcomm Inc, Google and Intel Corp plans to loosen Nvidia’s chokehold by going
ENERGY IMPACT: The electricity rate hike is expected to add about NT$4 billion to TSMC’s electricity bill a year and cut its annual earnings per share by about NT$0.154 Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) has left its long-term gross margin target unchanged despite the government deciding on Friday to raise electricity rates. One of the heaviest power consuming manufacturers in Taiwan, TSMC said it always respects the government’s energy policy and would continue to operate its fabs by making efforts in energy conservation. The chipmaker said it has left a long-term goal of more than 53 percent in gross margin unchanged. The Ministry of Economic Affairs concluded a power rate evaluation meeting on Friday, announcing electricity tariffs would go up by 11 percent on average to about NT$3.4518 per kilowatt-hour (kWh)
OPENING ADDRESS: The CEO is to give a speech on the future of high-performance computing and artificial intelligence at the trade show’s opening on June 3, TAITRA said Advanced Micro Devices Inc (AMD) chairperson and chief executive officer Lisa Su (蘇姿丰) is to deliver the opening keynote speech at Computex Taipei this year, the event’s organizer said in a statement yesterday. Su is to give a speech on the future of high-performance computing (HPC) in the artificial intelligence (AI) era to open Computex, one of the world’s largest computer and technology trade events, at 9:30am on June 3, the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA) said. Su is to explore how AMD and the company’s strategic technology partners are pushing the limits of AI and HPC, from data centers to