WEALTH
Bezos named world’s richest
Amazon.com Inc chief Jeff Bezos is now the world’s richest person, having snatched the top spot from Microsoft Corp founder Bill Gates who slips to second place, according to Forbes magazine’s annual billionaires list published on Tuesday. US President Donald Trump’s ranking on the list fell to 766th place from 544th in the last edition, his wealth now being estimated at US$3.1 billion, US$400 million less than a year ago. Bezos’ fortune shot up to US$112 billion, Forbes said, way ahead of the US$90 billion listed for Gates.
SEMICONDUCTORS
Broadcom deal opposed
Broadcom Ltd’s hostile takeover attempt of Qualcomm Inc could pose a national security risk because of Qualcomm’s leadership in developing critical semiconductor technology, the US Department of the Treasury said, setting up a potentially insurmountable hurdle to getting a deal done. Qualcomm’s sale to Singapore-based Broadcom could hurt the chipmaker’s competitiveness by reducing research and development, which would threaten US security, the Treasury said in a letter on Monday, which Qualcomm released the following day. Harm to Qualcomm’s innovation would allow China to expand its influence in key wireless technology, the US government said.
TELECOMS
Blackberry sues Facebook
Canadian telecom firm BlackBerry Ltd on Tuesday sued Facebook Inc, accusing the US social media company of infringing on its patents for messaging apps. BlackBerry is claiming infringement on patents it holds for message encryption and notifications, and is seeking an injunction as well as damages for lost profits, although no figure was given. Facebook and its wholly owned services Instagram and WhatsApp are named as defendants in the lawsuit.
LOGISTICS
Deutsche Post makes targets
German logistics group Deutsche Post DHL Group yesterday said it had hit its targets for last year and remained confident for this year, buoyed by continuing growth in online shopping. Net profit at the Bonn-based firm increased 2.8 percent to 2.7 billion euros (US$3.3 billion) last year, slightly short of forecasts from analysts surveyed by Factset. Operating profit grew 7.2 percent to 3.7 billion euros, while revenue added 5.4 percent to reach 60.4 billion euros.
TOYS
Lego sales, profit contract
Danish toy maker Lego saw profits shrink last year, as the company struggled in major markets, posting its first drop in revenue since 2004. The company’s revenue fell 7.7 percent from a year earlier to 35 billion kroner (US$5.82 billion), weighing down net profit, which plunged 17.2 percent to 7.8 billion kroner. Operating profit decreased 16.8 percent to 10.4 billion kroner.
? INTERNET
WeChat users hit 1 billion
China’s WeChat (微信) social media platform has crossed the 1 billion accounts mark, as its messaging, game and shopping services attract more users. The symbolic threshold was announced on Monday by Ma Huateng (馬化騰), chief executive of its parent company, Tencent Holdings Ltd (騰訊), on the sidelines of China’s National People’s Congress session. The all-in-one app is a daily necessity for most Chinese, bringing together messaging, social media, mobile payment, games, news and other services.
ISSUES: Gogoro has been struggling with ballooning losses and was recently embroiled in alleged subsidy fraud, using Chinese-made components instead of locally made parts Gogoro Inc (睿能創意), the nation’s biggest electric scooter maker, yesterday said that its chairman and CEO Horace Luke (陸學森) has resigned amid chronic losses and probes into the company’s alleged involvement in subsidy fraud. The board of directors nominated Reuntex Group (潤泰集團) general counsel Tamon Tseng (曾夢達) as the company’s new chairman, Gogoro said in a statement. Ruentex is Gogoro’s biggest stakeholder. Gogoro Taiwan general manager Henry Chiang (姜家煒) is to serve as acting CEO during the interim period, the statement said. Luke’s departure came as a bombshell yesterday. As a company founder, he has played a key role in pushing for the
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
CROSS-STRAIT TENSIONS: The US company could switch orders from TSMC to alternative suppliers, but that would lower chip quality, CEO Jensen Huang said Nvidia Corp CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳), whose products have become the hottest commodity in the technology world, on Wednesday said that the scramble for a limited amount of supply has frustrated some customers and raised tensions. “The demand on it is so great, and everyone wants to be first and everyone wants to be most,” he told the audience at a Goldman Sachs Group Inc technology conference in San Francisco. “We probably have more emotional customers today. Deservedly so. It’s tense. We’re trying to do the best we can.” Huang’s company is experiencing strong demand for its latest generation of chips, called
GLOBAL ECONOMY: Policymakers have a choice of a small 25 basis-point cut or a bold cut of 50 basis points, which would help the labor market, but might reignite inflation The US Federal Reserve is gearing up to announce its first interest rate cut in more than four years on Wednesday, with policymakers expected to debate how big a move to make less than two months before the US presidential election. Senior officials at the US central bank including Fed Chairman Jerome Powell have in recent weeks indicated that a rate cut is coming this month, as inflation eases toward the bank’s long-term target of two percent, and the labor market continues to cool. The Fed, which has a dual mandate from the US Congress to act independently to ensure