TELECOMS
Vodafone in acquisition talks
Vodafone Group PLC has confirmed that it is in early stage discussions with Liberty Global PLC regarding the potential acquisition of some “overlapping continental European assets” that are owned by Liberty Global. Vodafone acknowledged the discussions in a statement on Friday that followed reports of talks in the Financial Times. The newspaper reported that the talks were likely to involve holdings in the UK and Germany. Vodafone said there is no certainty the deal would take place and said the matter was limited in scope.
EMPLOYMENT
Best Buy doles out bonuses
US consumer electronics retailer Best Buy Co said it would be handing out bonuses to more than 100,000 employees, joining a list of companies sharing a portion of their windfall from the corporate tax reform law with employees. The Minneapolis-based chain said that this month it would pay one-time bonuses of US$1,000 to full-time workers and US$500 to part-time employees. Company spokesman Jeff Shelman said full-time salaried employees on a bonus plan would not get the extra funds.
REAL ESTATE
UK sees fewer homes built
UK homebuilding activity shrank last month, ending a 16-month expansion, according to a report on Friday. IHS Markit’s monthly index fell to 48.1, the lowest since just after the Brexit vote in 2016 and below the key 50 line that separates expansion from contraction. The reading was down from 55.3 in December last year. Housing had been the main driver of growth in recent months and its slump dragged the overall construction purchasing managers’ index to 50.2 — a four-month low — from 52.2. IHS Markit said new construction orders fell slightly for the first time in four months.
BANKING
Fed chair moves forward
US Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen, the first woman to head the nation’s central bank, is not taking any time off. Her last day at the Fed was on Friday. She is to start a new job tomorrow at the Brookings Institution. The Washington think tank said Yellen would join the institution’s Hutchins Center on Fiscal and Monetary Policy as a distinguished fellow in residence.
SHIPPING
Fincantieri wins French deal
Italian shipbuilding company Fincantieri SpA said on Friday it has reached an agreement with France to buy 50 percent of the French shipyard STX. Fincantieri said it would pay 59.7 million euros (US$74.4 million) to conclude the deal for the shipyard in the western port of Saint-Nazaire, which builds huge cruise liners and warships. Under the terms of the agreement, the French state would keep a blocking minority in the company.
TECHNOLOGY
Dell mulls VMware merger
Dell Inc is considering merging with business software provider VMware Inc as part of several potential strategic options. The Round Rock, Texas-based computer maker already owns 82 percent of VMware. The company said the board of directors is reviewing the option. Dell, which went private in 2013, also said on Friday it is considering a public offering of stock.
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
Among the rows of vibrators, rubber torsos and leather harnesses at a Chinese sex toys exhibition in Shanghai this weekend, the beginnings of an artificial intelligence (AI)-driven shift in the industry quietly pulsed. China manufactures about 70 percent of the world’s sex toys, most of it the “hardware” on display at the fair — whether that be technicolor tentacled dildos or hyper-realistic personalized silicone dolls. Yet smart toys have been rising in popularity for some time. Many major European and US brands already offer tech-enhanced products that can enable long-distance love, monitor well-being and even bring people one step closer to
RECORD-BREAKING: TSMC’s net profit last quarter beat market expectations by expanding 8.9% and it was the best first-quarter profit in the chipmaker’s history Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), which counts Nvidia Corp as a key customer, yesterday said that artificial intelligence (AI) server chip revenue is set to more than double this year from last year amid rising demand. The chipmaker expects the growth momentum to continue in the next five years with an annual compound growth rate of 50 percent, TSMC chief executive officer C.C. Wei (魏哲家) told investors yesterday. By 2028, AI chips’ contribution to revenue would climb to about 20 percent from a percentage in the low teens, Wei said. “Almost all the AI innovators are working with TSMC to address the
FUTURE PLANS: Although the electric vehicle market is getting more competitive, Hon Hai would stick to its goal of seizing a 5 percent share globally, Young Liu said Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密), a major iPhone assembler and supplier of artificial intelligence (AI) servers powered by Nvidia Corp’s chips, yesterday said it has introduced a rotating chief executive structure as part of the company’s efforts to cultivate future leaders and to enhance corporate governance. The 50-year-old contract electronics maker reported sizable revenue of NT$6.16 trillion (US$189.67 billion) last year. Hon Hai, also known as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團), has been under the control of one man almost since its inception. A rotating CEO system is a rarity among Taiwanese businesses. Hon Hai has given leaders of the company’s six