ECONOMY
IMF says BOJ ‘very brave’
IMF managing director Christine Lagarde on Friday hailed the Bank of Japan’s (BOJ) “very brave” surprise move to step up its support for the nation’s recovery. Lagarde praised Japan where “very brave monetary policy has been displayed, with a very constant and decided drive focused on ... taking Japan out of the rut where it has been for ten years,” in comments at a central bankers conference in Paris. On Oct. 31, the BOJ said it would widen its asset-buying plan by as much as ¥20 trillion (US$174 billion), bringing it to an eye-popping ¥80 trillion annually as the outlook for growth and inflation worsened.
DEBT
Argentina pans judgement
Argentina on Friday told a New York judge that its court-forced bond default has spurred a raft of new lawsuits against the nation, threatening to further tie it up in litigation. In a letter to Judge Thomas Griesa, whose ruling blocking the nation from making a debt payment forced it into default in July, Buenos Aires complained that the result has been 25 new lawsuits from creditors. The “practical effect” of Greisa’s injunctions on the nation servicing its debt to its main creditors “has become clear since they went into effect this past June. They did not ‘end’ the litigation,” Argentina said.
OIL
OW files for bankruptcy
One of Denmark’s largest companies, ship fuel supplier OW Bunker A/S, on Friday filed for bankruptcy after saying it had discovered a US$125 million fraud at its subsidiary in Singapore. The company said two employees at Singapore-based Dynamic Oil Trading had been reported to the police following Wednesday’s announcement that the group had uncovered the fraud. The group, one of Denmark’s largest companies by revenue, said a review of its risk management contracts had revealed a mark to market loss of around US$150 million rather than the US$24.5 million announced on Oct. 23.
TELECOMS
AT&T plans to buy Iusacell
US telecom giant AT&T Inc on Friday announced plans to buy Mexican wireless operator Iusacell for US$2.5 billion and use it to create a mobile network spanning the two nations. The deal gives AT&T an additional 8.6 million subscribers in Mexico, and comes following reforms in the nation aimed at boosting competition in the wireless sector. AT&T said the deal is set to be completed when Mexican conglomerate Grupo Salinas closes its purchase of the 50 percent of Iusacell it does not already own.
FINANCE
Berkshire Q3 profit falls
Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway reported a 9 percent drop in third-quarter profit versus the same period a year ago, when the company had large investment gains. Berkshire on Friday said it earned US$4.62 billion, or US$2,811 per Class A share. That is down from US$5.05 billion, or US$3,074 per share, last year. Revenue grew 10 percent to US$51.2 billion. Buffett is chairman and chief executive officer of the Omaha, Nebraska-based conglomerate. Berkshire wrote down the value of its investment in British retailer Tesco by US$678 million. The Tesco writedown was part of an overall loss of US$107 million on Berkshire’s investments and derivatives.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday obtained the government’s approval to inject an additional US$7.5 billion into its US subsidiary, the Department of Investment Review said in a statement. The department approved TSMC’s application of investing in TSMC Arizona Corp, which is engaged in the manufacturing, sales, testing and design of IC and other semiconductor devices, it said. The latest capital injection follows a US$5 billion investment for TSMC Arizona approved in June. The chipmaker has broken ground on two advanced fabs in Arizona with aggregated investments approved by the department totaling US$24 billion thus far. According to TSMC, the first Arizona
The lethal hack of Hezbollah’s Asian-branded pagers and walkie-talkies has sparked an intense search for the devices’ path, revealing a murky market for older technologies where buyers might have few assurances about what they are getting. While supply chains and distribution channels for higher-margin and newer products are tightly managed, that is not the case for older electronics from Asia where counterfeiting, surplus inventories and complex contract manufacturing deals can sometimes make it impossible to identify the source of a product, analysts and consultants say. The response from the companies at the center of the booby-trapped gadgets that killed 37
FRIENDLY TAKEOVER: While Qualcomm Inc’s proposal to buy some or all of Intel raises the prospect of other competitors, Broadcom Inc is staying on the sidelines Qualcomm Inc has approached Intel Corp to discuss a potential acquisition of the struggling chipmaker, people with knowledge of the matter said, raising the prospect of one of the biggest-ever merger and acquisition deals. California-based Qualcomm proposed a friendly takeover for Intel in recent days, said the sources, who asked not to be identified discussing confidential information. The proposal is for all of the chipmaker, although Qualcomm has not ruled out buying some parts of Intel and selling off others. It is uncertain whether the initial approach would lead to an agreement and any deal is likely to come under close antitrust scrutiny
SECURITY CONCERNS: The proposed ban on Chinese autonomous vehicle software and hardware would go into effect with the 2027 and 2030 model years respectively The US Department of Commerce today is expected to propose prohibiting Chinese software and hardware in connected and autonomous vehicles on US roads due to national security concerns, two sources said. US President Joe Biden’s administration has raised concerns about the collection of data by Chinese companies on US drivers and infrastructure as well as the potential foreign manipulation of vehicles connected to the Internet and navigation systems. The proposed regulation would ban the import and sale of vehicles from China with key communications or automated driving system software or hardware, said the two sources, who declined to be identified because the