ARGENTINA
No big central bank changes
The government said on Thursday it would make no sweeping changes at its central bank after director Juan Carlos Fabrega resigned amid an economic slide. Stocks were 7.26 percent lower in afternoon trading in Buenos Aires, after falling 8.22 percent on Wednesday. Cabinet head Jorge Capitanich told journalists the new central bank governor, Alejandro Vanoli, had the exact same job description as his hastily departed predecessor — to shepherd the country’s struggling economy.
ECONOMY
France predicts slow growth
The French economy is headed for growth of only 0.4 percent this year, according to official data published late on Thursday by the national statistics office INSEE. The French economy was “unlikely to see a real upturn” this year, INSEE said. However, the agency made no mention of its outlook for next year, which has become the focus of attention after Finance Minister Michel Sapin on Wednesday predicted 1 percent growth next year.
CANADA
Budget deficit revised down
Canada’s fiscal 2013-2014 budget deficit was less than one-third of an original estimate announced in February, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper said on Thursday. The prime minister told a business audience in Brampton, Ontario, that the figure has been revised down to C$5.2 billion (US$4.7 billion). Thus Canada is likely to also beat its budget projections for this year and next. However, Harper did not specify how much bigger this year’s much-anticipated surplus could be.
SOUTH AFRICA
US$493m bank deal signed
South Africa’s Nedbank has acquired a 20 percent share of the pan-African Ecobank Transnational Inc, the latest large-scale investment in the much sought-after institution. Nedbank and Ecobank announced the deal on Thursday, worth around US$493 million, just weeks after Qatar National Bank bumped its holding to 23.5 percent. Togo-headquartered Ecobank has a leading presence in Africa, with more than 1,200 branches in 36 African nations.
AUTOMAKERS
Tesla to unveil new model
Tesla Motors founder Elon Musk on Thursday teased fans via Twitter, hinting that the electric carmaker would unveil a new model next week. The message included a photo of a partially open garage door with the letter “D” and the silhouette of an automobile. Underneath was written “October 9, 2014.”
ENTERTAINMENT
Disney CEO to stay on
US media-entertainment group Disney said on Thursday it has extended the contract of chief executive Robert Iger through to June 2018. Iger, 63, took the reins at Walt Disney Co in 2005 and added the title of chairman in 2012. Disney’s market value has grown from US$48 billion when he took over to around US$150 billion today.
INSURANCE
Allianz appoints new CEO
German insurer Allianz SE says board member Oliver Baete is to take over as chief executive in May, when current CEO Michael Diekmann steps down after more than a decade in charge. Allianz said on Thursday that its supervisory board accepted Diekmann’s request not to remain as CEO beyond the company’s standard age limit of 60. Diekmann has been in charge since April 2003.Baete will succeed him on May 7, with a contract that runs until September 2019.
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