AUTOMAKERS
Ford to sell in US dollars
Ford Motor Co is to sell some of its cars in Venezuela in US dollars to alleviate a shortage of greenbacks that has slashed its imports and paralyzed its plant, according to a labor union official. “Car sales will be in [US] dollars,” Ford Motors de Venezuela union head Gilberto Troya said by telephone from Valencia, Venezuela. He said the company informed the union of the deal with the government on April 28. “This could lead to a complete dollarization of the sector.” Under the deal, customers are to give dealerships US dollars, which will be used to import car parts to be assembled at the Valencia plant, Troya said. Customers could still buy some of the cheaper models, such as the Fiesta, in bolivars, he said.
TECHNOLOGY
Uber valuation to rise
Uber Technologies Inc plans to raise US$1.5 billion in a new funding round that is to boost the car-booking startup’s valuation to US$50 billion, a person with knowledge of the matter said. Uber, which was previously valued at US$40 billion when it raised financing earlier this year, is benefiting from investors who view its car-booking technology as the future of transport. The San Francisco-based company might also need funding for acquisitions, following a report by the New York Times this week that it submitted a bid for HERE, Nokia Oyj’s maps business, for as much as US$3 billion.
RETAIL
Wal-Mart eyes new locations
Wal-Mart Stores Inc on Friday said it would spend about C$350 million (US$290 million) to buy and renovate 13 former Target Canada Co locations and a distribution center. Wal-Mart is to pay about C$165 million for the warehouse and stores, and plans to hire about 3,400 new employees across Canada, it said in a statement. The Bentonville, Arkansas-based company said the investment is in addition to the C$340 million it is spending on 29 big-box stores in Canada, announced in February. US retailer Target Corp is liquidating its Canadian operations after racking up billions in losses after less than two years in the nation.
INTERNET
Google adds food feature
Google Inc on Friday added a feature that lets people in the US order food directly from mobile searches for local restaurants. “Whether you’re craving deep dish pizza or pad thai, starting today you can order food from some of your favorite restaurants directly from Google search results,” the California-based firm said in a post on its Google+ social network page. Search queries for nearby restaurants are to be served up with an option to “place an order.”
BANKING
Burkinabe bank head arrested
The head of one of Burkina Faso’s largest banks has been arrested on suspicion of having embezzled billions of CFA francs, a source close to the investigation said on Friday. “The director general of the Banque de l’Habitat du Burkina Faso, Pierre Zerbo, was arrested yesterday and remanded in custody [on Friday],” the security source said. Zerbo is still being interrogated over allegations he embezzled “several billion CFA francs,” added the source, although seven executives who also faced questioning have now been released.
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
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
GLOBAL ECONOMY: Policymakers have a choice of a small 25 basis-point cut or a bold cut of 50 basis points, which would help the labor market, but might reignite inflation The US Federal Reserve is gearing up to announce its first interest rate cut in more than four years on Wednesday, with policymakers expected to debate how big a move to make less than two months before the US presidential election. Senior officials at the US central bank including Fed Chairman Jerome Powell have in recent weeks indicated that a rate cut is coming this month, as inflation eases toward the bank’s long-term target of two percent, and the labor market continues to cool. The Fed, which has a dual mandate from the US Congress to act independently to ensure