ENTERTAINMENT
Attendance up in most parks
Disney parks in North America had slight attendance declines last year due to increased ticket prices, while Harry Potter rides helped Universal Studios show strong increases in visitors. A report released this week by the Themed Entertainment Association and AECOM said Walt Disney Co’s domestic parks declined by about 1 percent. Despite the declines, revenue was up about 5 percent due to increased guest spending. Attendance at Universal parks in the US was up nearly 7.5 percent, while Six Flags Entertainment Corp’s parks had a 4 percent increase in attendance and Cedar Fair LP’s parks were up 2.7 percent in visitors.
UNITED KINGDOM
No rise in tax for rich: Fallon
An ally of Prime Minister Theresa May said income tax would not rise for higher earners, making a new promise to voters less than a week before a national election with opinion polls showing a narrowing of May’s lead. The comments from Secretary of State for Defence Michael Fallon in an interview with the Daily Telegraph suggested that the ruling Conservative Party would not increase the top rate of income tax, striking a contrast with the Labour Party. “You’ve seen our record. We’re not in the business of punishing people for getting on. On the contrary, we want people to keep more of their earnings,” Fallon said. “The only way they can be sure their taxes won’t rise is to vote Conservative.”
AUSTRIA
Kurz promises tax decrease
Minister for Foreign Affairs and Integration Sebastian Kurz, the conservative candidate in the October election, wants to jump-start the economy by lowering taxes and other costs by at least 12 billion euros (US$13.54 billion) a year to help companies invest and create jobs. “Austria has lost ground as a business location in recent years,” Kurz said in a telephone interview. “We need to reduce the tax and contribution rate at least to 40 percent from the current 43 percent.” The nation is to hold early national elections on Oct. 15.
CHINA
Chairman can leave: Anbang
Anbang Insurance Group Co (安邦保險集團) denied a Financial Times report on Friday that said its chairman, Wu Xiaohui (吳小暉), is barred by authorities from leaving the country, citing four people who have had business dealings with him. The insurer’s global takeover spree since 2014 has raised questions about its ownership and finances, with the latest request coming from a hotel union negotiating a contract at one of its US hotels, while China has clamped down on capital flight. Anbang also has become involved in a political power struggle in China, the newspaper said.
VENEZUELA
Goldman reviewing bonds
Goldman Sachs Group Inc’s compliance and legal staff are reviewing the purchase of US$2.8 billion in discounted Venezuela bonds after the deal sparked protests and calls for a legislative probe, a person with knowledge of the matter said. The review is focusing on how the process could be improved, the person said. Some Venezuelan lawmakers said the purchase, made by Goldman Sachs’ asset-management unit, lends support to President Nicolas Maduro as he grapples with accusations of human rights violations.
WASHINGTON’S INCENTIVES: The CHIPS Act set aside US$39 billion in direct grants to persuade the world’s top semiconductor companies to make chips on US soil The US plans to award more than US$6 billion to Samsung Electronics Co, helping the chipmaker expand beyond a project in Texas it has already announced, people familiar with the matter said. The money from the 2022 CHIPS and Science Act would be one of several major awards that the US Department of Commerce is expected to announce in the coming weeks, including a grant of more than US$5 billion to Samsung’s rival, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), people familiar with the plans said. The people spoke on condition of anonymity in advance of the official announcements. The federal funding for
HIGH DEMAND: The firm has strong capabilities of providing key components including liquid cooling technology needed for AI servers, chairman Young Liu said Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) yesterday revised its revenue outlook for this year to “significant” growth from a “neutral” view forecast five months ago, due to strong demand for artificial intelligence (AI) servers from cloud service providers. Hon Hai, a major assembler of iPhones that is also known as Foxconn, expects AI server revenues to soar more than 40 percent annually this year, chairman Young Liu (劉揚偉) told investors. The robust growth would uplift revenue contribution from AI servers to 40 percent of the company’s overall server revenue this year, from 30 percent last year, Liu said. In the three-year period
LONG HAUL: Largan Energy Materials’ TNO-based lithium-ion batteries are expected to charge in five minutes and last about 20 years, far surpassing conventional technology Largan Precision Co (大立光) has formed a joint venture with the Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI, 工研院) to produce fast-charging, long-life lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles, mobile electronics and electric storage units, the camera lens supplier for Apple Inc’s iPhones said yesterday. Largan Energy Materials Co (萬溢能源材料), established in January, is developing high-energy, fast-charging, long-life lithium-ion batteries using titanium niobium oxide (TNO) anodes, it said. TNO-based batteries can be fully charged in five minutes and have a lifespan of 20 years, a major advantage over the two to four hours of charging time needed for conventional graphite-anode-based batteries, Largan said in a
Taiwan is one of the first countries to benefit from the artificial intelligence (AI) boom, but because that is largely down to a single company it also represents a risk, former Google Taiwan managing director Chien Lee-feng (簡立峰) said at an AI forum in Taipei yesterday. Speaking at the forum on how generative AI can generate possibilities for all walks of life, Chien said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) — currently among the world’s 10 most-valuable companies due to continued optimism about AI — ensures Taiwan is one of the economies to benefit most from AI. “This is because AI is