FAST FOOD
Wendy’s changes antibiotics
Wendy’s Co, the fifth-largest US fast-food chain by revenue, is to quit using chickens raised with antibiotics important to human health by next year, the company said on Thursday. Concern has been growing among public health experts, consumers and shareholders that the overuse of such drugs is contributing to rising numbers of life-threatening human infections from antibiotic-resistant bacteria dubbed “superbugs.” An estimated 70 percent of antibiotics important to human health are sold for use in meat and dairy production. On Monday, McDonald’s Corp said it had completed its shift to using only chickens raised without antibiotics important to human medicine.
CRYPTOCURRENCIES
Bitfinex to ‘socialize’ loss
Hong Kong-based cryptocurrency exchange Bitfinex, from which hackers stole about US$72 million this week, yesterday said that it expected to “socialize” the losses among bitcoin balances. In US dollar terms, the theft of the 119,756 bitcoins revealed on Tuesday was the second-biggest security breach ever of a digital currency exchange. The theft accounted for about 0.75 percent of all bitcoins in circulation. The exchange, which is known for its liquidity in the dollar/bitcoin currency pair, previously said it would settle accounts at an exchange rate of US$604.06, the midpoint of the bid and ask on Tuesday.
AUTOPARTS
Takata profit drops by third
Takata Corp, the air bag maker behind the biggest automotive recall, said quarterly profit plunged by one-third as the supplier drafted restructuring plans in the face of billions of dollars in potential costs related to its defective safety products. Net income fell to ¥2.07 billion (US$20.5 million) in the quarter ended in June, from ¥3.1 billion a year earlier, Takata said yesterday. The company booked a ¥3.5 billion charge in the period related to air bag lawsuits. Takata reiterated its belief there is no material uncertainty about its ability to continue as a going concern, saying it cannot estimate the costs of responding to its air bag woes.
BANKING
RBS loses US$913 million
The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) swung to a loss in the second quarter as it set aside more cash to cover litigation and conduct issues as it cleans up the problems that led to a taxpayer-funded bailout at the height of the global financial crisis. The now government-controlled bank yesterday reported a pretax operating loss of £695 million (US$913.8 million) compared with a profit of £224 million in the same quarter a year earlier. It posted a net loss of £1.08 billion, compared with profit of £280 million a year earlier.
GERMANY
Factory orders drop 0.4%
Factory orders dropped in June as demand from abroad — especially within the eurozone — went down sharply. The Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy yesterday said that orders dropped 0.4 percent in June after a 0.1 percent increase in May. Orders from inside the nation rose 0.7 percent, while orders from outside the eurozone increased 3.8 percent. Demand from other countries in the 19-nation eurozone fell 8.5 percent compared with the previous month, it added. The ministry said that overall foreign orders decreased 1.2 percent.
Stephen Garrett, a 27-year-old graduate student, always thought he would study in China, but first the country’s restrictive COVID-19 policies made it nearly impossible and now he has other concerns. The cost is one deterrent, but Garrett is more worried about restrictions on academic freedom and the personal risk of being stranded in China. He is not alone. Only about 700 American students are studying at Chinese universities, down from a peak of nearly 25,000 a decade ago, while there are nearly 300,000 Chinese students at US schools. Some young Americans are discouraged from investing their time in China by what they see
MAJOR DROP: CEO Tim Cook, who is visiting Hanoi, pledged the firm was committed to Vietnam after its smartphone shipments declined 9.6% annually in the first quarter Apple Inc yesterday said it would increase spending on suppliers in Vietnam, a key production hub, as CEO Tim Cook arrived in the country for a two-day visit. The iPhone maker announced the news in a statement on its Web site, but gave no details of how much it would spend or where the money would go. Cook is expected to meet programmers, content creators and students during his visit, online newspaper VnExpress reported. The visit comes as US President Joe Biden’s administration seeks to ramp up Vietnam’s role in the global tech supply chain to reduce the US’ dependence on China. Images on
New apartments in Taiwan’s major cities are getting smaller, while old apartments are increasingly occupied by older people, many of whom live alone, government data showed. The phenomenon has to do with sharpening unaffordable property prices and an aging population, property brokers said. Apartments with one bedroom that are two years old or older have gained a noticeable presence in the nation’s six special municipalities as well as Hsinchu county and city in the past five years, Evertrust Rehouse Co (永慶房產集團) found, citing data from the government’s real-price transaction platform. In Taipei, apartments with one bedroom accounted for 19 percent of deals last
US CONSCULTANT: The US Department of Commerce’s Ursula Burns is a rarely seen US government consultant to be put forward to sit on the board, nominated as an independent director Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, yesterday nominated 10 candidates for its new board of directors, including Ursula Burns from the US Department of Commerce. It is rare that TSMC has nominated a US government consultant to sit on its board. Burns was nominated as one of seven independent directors. She is vice chair of the department’s Advisory Council on Supply Chain Competitiveness. Burns is to stand for election at TSMC’s annual shareholders’ meeting on June 4 along with the rest of the candidates. TSMC chairman Mark Liu (劉德音) was not on the list after in December last