ECONOMY
Japan sees output decline
Japan’s industrial production declined more than economists forecast in another sign of sluggishness for the world’s third-largest economy as it struggles to recover. Output declined 2.3 percent in May from April when it rose 0.5 percent, the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry reported yesterday. The weak reading on production, along with Wednesday’s report that retail sales were flat in May and data showing another monthly drop in exports, adds to concern that Japan’s recovery is faltering after the economy returned to growth in the first quarter.
ECONOMY
Argentina reports growth
Argentina’s economy grew 0.5 percent in the first quarter, the authorities said on Wednesday, the first such figure since the conservative government overhauled the controversial state statistics system on taking power. The preliminary growth estimate published by the national statistics institute INDEC beat forecasts by private analysts. They had expected a contraction of about 1 percent from the same period a year earlier.
AGROCHEMICALS
Monsanto seeks raised bid
US agrochemicals giant Monsanto Co is hoping Bayer AG will increase its takeover offer, but the higher price could prove a bitter pill to swallow for the German group’s shareholders, the business daily Handelsblatt reported yesterday. “The Americans are suggesting an increase in the offer price of between US$10 and US$15 per share from US$122 at the moment,” the newspaper said, quoting unnamed sources. That would mean that the German company would have to put an additional US$5 billion to US$7 billion on the table, compared with the current offer price of US$62 billion, Handelsblatt said.
INTERNET
Belgium loses Facebook case
The Belgian data protection authority on Wednesday lost a legal battle with Facebook Inc in which it sought to stop the social network from tracking the online activities of non-Facebook users in Belgium who visit the social network’s pages. The Belgian Privacy Commission said the Brussels Appeals Court had dismissed its case on the grounds that the regulator has no jurisdiction over Facebook, which has its European headquarters in Ireland. The US company has staunchly maintained that only the Irish Data Protection Commissioner has jurisdiction over how it uses Europeans’ data.
TECHNOLOGY
Intel, Mobileye join forces
Intel Corp is working with Mobileye NV to develop self-driving car technology for BMW AG, people familiar with the matter said. Senior executives from each company are to hold an event today to discuss the driverless-vehicle initiative, said the people, who asked not to be named because the details are private. Jerusalem-based Mobileye has been an early leader in providing cameras, software and other components that allow vehicles to see the world around them.
BANKING
CIBC to buy PrivateBancorp
The Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC) on Wednesday made a US$3.8 billion offer to buy Chicago-based investment bank PrivateBancorp as it looks to expand in the US. CIBC expects to pay US$1.5 billion in cash and issue 29.5 million shares to finance the acquisition, it said in a statement. PrivateBancorp operates in 12 US states and manages assets totaling US$17.7 billion. The takeover bid is expected to be finalized early next year.
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
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
FACTORY SHIFT: While Taiwan produces most of the world’s AI servers, firms are under pressure to move manufacturing amid geopolitical tensions Lenovo Group Ltd (聯想) started building artificial intelligence (AI) servers in India’s south, the latest boon for the rapidly growing country’s push to become a high-tech powerhouse. The company yesterday said it has started making the large, powerful computers in Pondicherry, southeastern India, moving beyond products such as laptops and smartphones. The Chinese company would also build out its facilities in the Bangalore region, including a research lab with a focus on AI. Lenovo’s plans mark another win for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who tries to attract more technology investment into the country. While India’s tense relationship with China has suffered setbacks