SOFTWARE
Netherlands warns Microsoft
Dutch authorities on Friday said Microsoft Corp’s Windows 10 operating system is violating data protection and privacy laws, and the Dutch Data Protection Authority (DPA) said it might impose fines on the US technology giant. The DPA said in a statement that it had investigated several versions of Windows 10, which has been installed on 4 million active devices in the Netherlands since it was launched in July 2015. It said it found that “through the default setting” Microsoft “systematically charts information about app usage of users.” Microsoft said that it does not believe the findings “accurately reflect the data protection compliance of Windows 10.”
DEBT
Moscow, Caracas seek deal
Russia and Venezuela might sign an agreement on restructuring Venezuelan debt by the end of the year if terms drafted by their finance ministries are approved, Russian Minister of Finance Anton Siluanov said on Saturday. “In general, we worked out with the finance ministry such conditions,” Siluanov told reporters in Washington, where he attended the IMF meeting. “If the Venezuelan side initials these agreements quickly, there are reasons to agree by the end of this year and to sign restructuring terms.” Siluanov declined to elaborate on the terms, but said that talks are about restructuring the debt, not about its write-off.
BANKING
Cairo to renew finance deal
The government plans to renew a US$2 billion financing deal with international banks while also developing alternative sources of funding such as issuing dollar-denominated eurobonds, Minister of Finance Amr El-Garhy said on Saturday in Washington, where he was attending the annual IMF meeting. The repurchase transaction, which international banks offered to increase to US$5 billion upon its extension, would remain unchanged in size and probably in duration, he said, adding the final details have not been confirmed. A plan to sell US$4 billion of dollar-denominated bonds and 1.5 billion euro (US$1.8 billion) in euro-denominated debt will “most probably” take place in the first quarter of next year, he said.
INVESTMENT
Saudi fund invests in dairy
Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund became the third-biggest shareholder in Almarai Co as it boosts investments at home and abroad. The Public Investment Fund owns 163.2 million shares, or 16.32 percent, of the Riyadh-based dairy farm operator and food processor, according to a regulatory filing that did not disclose the identity of the seller. The stake is valued at about 9 billion riyals (US$2.4 billion) based on Thursday’s closing prices, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The fund could eventually control more than US$2 trillion in assets, according to Saudi Arabian Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
ENTERTAINMENT
Fandango buys MovieTickets
US movie ticket platform Fandango agreed to acquire online rival MovieTickets.com. The deal gives Fandango, a division of Comcast Corp’s NBCUniversal, the ability to sell tickets for several more chains. The acquisition also adds to Fandango’s footprint in Latin America and makes it available for the first time in the UK and Canada. The deal will close in the fourth quarter, according to a statement. Fandango last year acquired movie-review aggregator Rottentomatoes.com and film-buff site Flixster from Warner Bros.
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
Taiwan Transport and Storage Corp (TTS, 台灣通運倉儲) yesterday unveiled its first electric tractor unit — manufactured by Volvo Trucks — in a ceremony in Taipei, and said the unit would soon be used to transport cement produced by Taiwan Cement Corp (TCC, 台灣水泥). Both TTS and TCC belong to TCC International Holdings Ltd (台泥國際集團). With the electric tractor unit, the Taipei-based cement firm would become the first in Taiwan to use electric vehicles to transport construction materials. TTS chairman Koo Kung-yi (辜公怡), Volvo Trucks vice president of sales and marketing Johan Selven, TCC president Roman Cheng (程耀輝) and Taikoo Motors Group
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