INTERNET
Aereo files for bankruptcy
Aereo Inc, an online startup that tried to offer a cheaper alternative to cable TV, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection less than five months after an unfavorable ruling by the US Supreme Court. The company — backed by media mogul Barry Diller — allowed people to watch and record broadcast TV online for US$8 a month on tablets, phones and other devices.
BANKING
Credit Suisse formally guilty
European bank Credit Suisse’s plea of guilty to helping wealthy US citizens avoid paying taxes has been formalized by a federal judge. US District Chief Judge Rebecca Beach Smith on Friday entered orders requiring Credit Suisse AG to pay US$2.6 billion in fines and restitution to the US government and regulators. Credit Suisse, Switzerland’s second-largest bank, pleaded guilty in May in a settlement with the US Department of Justice to using secret offshore accounts to help US citizens evade taxes.
INSURANCE
Aviva eyes Friends Life
Aviva PLC said it is in talks to buy Friends Life Group Ltd for about £5.6 billion (US$8.8 billion) in what would be the biggest takeover in the UK insurance industry in 15 years. Aviva, Britain’s second-biggest insurer by market value, is offering £3.99 in stock for each Friends Life share, 15 percent more than Friday’s closing price, the company said in a statement. Friends Life, whose shareholders would own about 26 percent of the combined company, said it is willing to recommend the key terms of the proposed deal to shareholders.
BANKING
RBC extends retreat
Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) is exiting wealth management in the Caribbean and reviewing its Swiss operations as the lender extends a retreat in its international wealth business that began last year in Latin America. The RBC Wealth Management unit seeks to focus more on serving wealthy clients in priority markets including Canada, the US, the British Isles and Asia, it said in a statement. Canada’s second-largest lender by assets is also closing some international advisory and private-banking groups in Canada and the US, it added.
MACROECONOMICS
Mexico cuts growth forecast
The Mexican government cut its forecast for growth this year after the economy expanded less than analysts estimated for the eighth time in 10 quarters. The peso pared its advance. Mexico is set to grow between 2.1 percent and 2.6 percent this year, down from a previous forecast of 2.7 percent, Mexican Deputy Finance Minister Fernando Aportela said at a news conference in Mexico City.
OIL
Russia mulls production cut
Russia is considering cutting its oil production in a bid to revive prices, Russian Minister of Energy Alexander Novak said on Friday as the falling price of crude along with Western sanctions over Ukraine have led to the ruble plunging in value. “Is Russia ready to lower production to support prices? This question needs to be looked into carefully since the budget is strongly dependent on the price of oil,” Novak was quoted as saying by Interfax news agency.
Among the rows of vibrators, rubber torsos and leather harnesses at a Chinese sex toys exhibition in Shanghai this weekend, the beginnings of an artificial intelligence (AI)-driven shift in the industry quietly pulsed. China manufactures about 70 percent of the world’s sex toys, most of it the “hardware” on display at the fair — whether that be technicolor tentacled dildos or hyper-realistic personalized silicone dolls. Yet smart toys have been rising in popularity for some time. Many major European and US brands already offer tech-enhanced products that can enable long-distance love, monitor well-being and even bring people one step closer to
Malaysia’s leader yesterday announced plans to build a massive semiconductor design park, aiming to boost the Southeast Asian nation’s role in the global chip industry. A prominent player in the semiconductor industry for decades, Malaysia accounts for an estimated 13 percent of global back-end manufacturing, according to German tech giant Bosch. Now it wants to go beyond production and emerge as a chip design powerhouse too, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said. “I am pleased to announce the largest IC (integrated circuit) Design Park in Southeast Asia, that will house world-class anchor tenants and collaborate with global companies such as Arm [Holdings PLC],”
Sales in the retail, and food and beverage sectors last month continued to rise, increasing 0.7 percent and 13.6 percent respectively from a year earlier, setting record highs for the month of March, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday. Sales in the wholesale sector also grew last month by 4.6 annually, mainly due to the business opportunities for emerging applications related to artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing technologies, the ministry said in a report. The ministry forecast that retail, and food and beverage sales this month would retain their growth momentum as the former would benefit from Tomb Sweeping Day
Thousands of parents in Singapore are furious after a Cordlife Group Ltd (康盛人生集團), a major operator of cord blood banks in Asia, irreparably damaged their children’s samples through improper handling, with some now pursuing legal action. The ongoing case, one of the worst to hit the largely untested industry, has renewed concerns over companies marketing themselves to anxious parents with mostly unproven assurances. This has implications across the region, given Cordlife’s operations in Hong Kong, Macau, Indonesia, the Philippines and India. The parents paid for years to have their infants’ cord blood stored, with the understanding that the stem cells they contained