London’s vast financial services industry must never again be the “master of the economy,” the opposition Labour finance spokesman was to say yesterday in a speech accusing bankers of profiting from speculation at the expense of ordinary people.
John McDonnell, a veteran socialist who is now seeking to reassure business, promised higher taxes and tougher regulation of banks on the 10th anniversary of the collapse of Lehman Brothers — the pivotal moment in the global financial crisis.
In a speech outside the Bank of England, McDonnell was to say that ordinary people are still paying the price for the crisis through falling living standards and cuts to public services.
“One of the key lessons to be learnt from the crash is that never again must we allow finance to become the master of the economy, rather than its servant,” McDonnell was to say, according to excerpts of his speech.
“Labour in government will put finance to work for the real economy,” the excerpts said.
Despite his previous antipathy toward bankers, McDonnell is trying to win the support of financial leaders, just as former Labour leader Tony Blair helped prepare his party for power with what was dubbed the “prawn cocktail offensive” in the 1990s.
For example, McDonnell went for talks with Wall Street bank Goldman Sachs earlier this week to discuss Britain’s upcoming departure from the EU.
However, his speech was to say it would be clear that Labour will seek to extract more revenue from the City of London, including proposals to expand an existing tax on shares to trading on other assets such as bonds and derivatives.
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
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Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) has appointed Rose Castanares, executive vice president of TSMC Arizona, as president of the subsidiary, which is responsible for carrying out massive investments by the Taiwanese tech giant in the US state, the company said in a statement yesterday. Castanares will succeed Brian Harrison as president of the Arizona subsidiary on Oct. 1 after the incumbent president steps down from the position with a transfer to the Arizona CEO office to serve as an advisor to TSMC Arizona’s chairman, the statement said. According to TSMC, Harrison is scheduled to retire on Dec. 31. Castanares joined TSMC in