ECONOMY
IMF sets interest rate floor
The IMF on Friday announced a minimum interest rate on its unique SDR currency as it fights off the impact of sagging interest rates and deflation from major economies. The IMF said that from tomorrow it would maintain a floor rate of 0.05 percent, or five basis points, on its special drawing rights or SDR currency, which represents a basket of the currencies of its largest members. Currently the rate the IMF pays on the money its members lend to it is 3 basis points. That is also the basis for the global crisis lender’s loan rate to borrowers.
GREECE
Tax settlement draft passed
Parliament has approved draft legislation that would give distressed Greeks more than eight years to settle unpaid taxes imposed under the nation’s austerity measures. Lawmakers on Friday backed the measure allowing tax settlements to be extended to a maximum of 100 monthly payments, up from previous rules allowing 48. Two small opposition parties also voted in favor, in a rare display of consensus.
FINANCE
Cyprus given credit upgrade
Rating agency Standard & Poor’s gave Cyprus a pat on the back with a one notch upgrade to its credit grade, to “B+,” citing its commitment to the terms of its bailout program and better-than-expected economic growth. The agency also said the nation’s outlook is stable, with good economic progress offset by lingering challenges to its banking system, which is still burdened with a huge amount of bad loans.
BANKING
US FDIC closes Illinois bank
US regulators have closed a small lender in Illinois, bringing US bank failures this year to 16, after 24 closures in total last year. The US Federal Deposit Insurance Corp (FDIC) on Friday said that it has taken over The National Republic Bank of Chicago, which had about US$954.4 million in assets and US$915.3 million in deposits as of June 30. National Republic Bank is the fifth FDIC-insured institution to fail in Illinois this year. Its failure is expected to cost the deposit insurance fund US$111.6 million.
IRELAND
Bank of Ireland to raise pay
Staff at Bank of Ireland, the nation’s largest bank by assets, are set to receive their first pay increase in six years after the part state-owned lender reached an agreement with its largest trade union on Friday. The bank said the new proposals would increase salaries by 1.75 percent this year, back-dated to July, and by 2 percent from January. Irish banks have cut thousands of jobs and executive pay as the result of a 2008 banking crash.
TAXES
Designers cleared of evasion
Italy’s highest court has acquitted Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana of tax evasion in a highly publicized case that led the designers to close their Milan stores in protest for several days last year. The Court of Cassation in Rome overturned two lower court convictions in its decision on Friday, ruling that no crime had been committed. They had been found guilty in lower courts of failing to declare to Italian authorities 200 million euros (US$268 million) through a Luxembourg company, even though a prosecutor had argued for dismissal.
purpose: Tesla’s CEO sought to meet senior Chinese officials to discuss the rollout of its ‘full self-driving’ software in China and approval to transfer data they had collected Tesla Inc CEO Elon Musk arrived in Beijing yesterday on an unannounced visit, where he is expected to meet senior officials to discuss the rollout of "full self-driving" (FSD) software and permission to transfer data overseas, according to a person with knowledge of the matter. Chinese state media reported that he met Premier Li Qiang (李強) in Beijing, during which Li told Musk that Tesla's development in China could be regarded as a successful example of US-China economic and trade cooperation. Musk confirmed his meeting with the premier yesterday with a post on social media platform X. "Honored to meet with Premier Li
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE: The chipmaker last month raised its capital spending by 28 percent for this year to NT$32 billion from a previous estimate of NT$25 billion Contract chipmaker Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp (力積電子) yesterday launched a new 12-inch fab, tapping into advanced chip-on-wafer-on-substrate (CoWoS) packaging technology to support rising demand for artificial intelligence (AI) devices. Powerchip is to offer interposers, one of three parts in CoWoS packaging technology, with shipments scheduled for the second half of this year, Powerchip chairman Frank Huang (黃崇仁) told reporters on the sidelines of a fab inauguration ceremony in the Tongluo Science Park (銅鑼科學園區) in Miaoli County yesterday. “We are working with customers to supply CoWoS-related business, utilizing part of this new fab’s capacity,” Huang said, adding that Powerchip intended to bridge
Dutch brewing company Heineken NV on Friday announced an investment of NT$13.5 billion (US$414.62 million) over the next five years in Taiwan. The first multinational brewing company to operate in Taiwan, Heineken made the statement at a ceremony held at its brewery in Pingtung County. It also outlined its efforts to make the brewery “net zero” by 2030. Heineken has been in the Taiwanese market for 20 years, Heineken Taiwan managing director Jeff Wu (吳建甫) said. With strong support from local consumers, the Dutch brewery decided to transition from sales to manufacturing in the country, Wu said. Heineken assumed majority ownership and management rights
Microsoft Corp yesterday said that it would create Thailand’s first data center region to boost cloud and artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure, promising AI training to more than 100,000 people to develop tech. Bangkok is a key economic player in Southeast Asia, but it has lagged behind Indonesia and Singapore when it comes to the tech industry. Thailand has an “incredible opportunity to build a digital-first, AI-powered future,” Microsoft chairman and chief executive officer Satya Nadella said at an event in Bangkok. Data center regions are physical locations that store computing infrastructure, allowing secure and reliable access to cloud platforms. The global embrace of AI