UNITED STATES
Waters vows Trump probe
Democrat Maxine Waters, in line to take over the House Financial Services Committee, told colleagues she would undertake a deep dive into President Donald Trump’s “money trail,” beginning with ties to Deutsche Bank AG. In a memo obtained by Bloomberg, Waters promised that if she becomes the next chair of the panel with oversight over Wall Street, she would look at Deutsche Bank and examine any so-called suspicious activity reports filed with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network.
HEALTHCARE
Kirin to shift from beer
Kirin Holdings Co, Japan’s second-largest beer brewer, plans to shift its core business strategy from beverages to “health and illness-preventing” solutions, the Sankei newspaper reported, citing chief executive officer Yoshinori Isozaki. The Tokyo-based company is planning a global expansion of products that use its proprietary lactic acid bacteria technology, which it believes can prevent illnesses, such as the common cold and influenza, the newspaper reported.
AUTO RACING
NASCAR bids for ISC stock
NASCAR has submitted a non-binding offer to acquire all Class A and Class B common stock of International Speedway Corp (ISC) not already owned by the controlling shareholders of auto racing series. The intent is to combine ISC and NASCAR as one privately-run group of companies led by the France family. Jim France, chairman and chief executive officer of NASCAR, said that the two companies need a unified approach for growth. NASCAR’s offer is to be reviewed by a committee of ISC board members.
SOFTWARE
Symantec stock rebounds
Symantec Corp’s shares have slumped this year amid an internal accounting investigation and waning consumer interest in antivirus software for PCs. Last week, the stock surged after a report that private equity firm Thoma Bravo LLC had approached the cybersecurity company about a potential takeover. “Sometimes we get some headlines, rumors and speculation and our policy is not to comment,” Symantec chief executive officer Greg Clark told Bloomberg Television on Thursday.
INFRASTRUCTURE
Atlantia to pay compensation
Italian infrastructure group Atlantia has set aside 350 million euros (US$396.81 million) to cover the estimated cost of rebuilding the Genoa bridge, which collapsed in August, and compensating the families of those killed. Atlantia’s net profit of 733 million euros was below an average estimate from analysts of 767 million euros. The company also decided not to pay an interim dividend for the first time since 2013.
ROMANIA
New wage tiers announced
The government has passed an emergency ordinance creating two different levels for the minimum national wage. According to Friday’s measure, the minimum monthly salary is to be 2,080 leu (US$506.32) starting Jan.1, while those with higher education qualifications or 15 years of employment are guaranteed 2,350 leu. Previously, there was a flat minimum monthly salary of 1,900 leu regardless of an employee’s qualifications.
BUSINESS UPDATE: The iPhone assembler said operations outlook is expected to show quarter-on-quarter and year-on-year growth for the second quarter Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) yesterday reported strong growth in sales last month, potentially raising expectations for iPhone sales while artificial intelligence (AI)-related business booms. The company, which assembles the majority of Apple Inc’s smartphones, reported a 19.03 percent rise in monthly sales to NT$510.9 billion (US$15.78 billion), from NT$429.22 billion in the same period last year. On a monthly basis, sales rose 14.16 percent, it said. The company in a statement said that last month’s revenue was a record-breaking April performance. Hon Hai, known also as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團), assembles most iPhones, but the company is diversifying its business to
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE: The chipmaker last month raised its capital spending by 28 percent for this year to NT$32 billion from a previous estimate of NT$25 billion Contract chipmaker Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp (力積電子) yesterday launched a new 12-inch fab, tapping into advanced chip-on-wafer-on-substrate (CoWoS) packaging technology to support rising demand for artificial intelligence (AI) devices. Powerchip is to offer interposers, one of three parts in CoWoS packaging technology, with shipments scheduled for the second half of this year, Powerchip chairman Frank Huang (黃崇仁) told reporters on the sidelines of a fab inauguration ceremony in the Tongluo Science Park (銅鑼科學園區) in Miaoli County yesterday. “We are working with customers to supply CoWoS-related business, utilizing part of this new fab’s capacity,” Huang said, adding that Powerchip intended to bridge
Microsoft Corp yesterday said that it would create Thailand’s first data center region to boost cloud and artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure, promising AI training to more than 100,000 people to develop tech. Bangkok is a key economic player in Southeast Asia, but it has lagged behind Indonesia and Singapore when it comes to the tech industry. Thailand has an “incredible opportunity to build a digital-first, AI-powered future,” Microsoft chairman and chief executive officer Satya Nadella said at an event in Bangkok. Data center regions are physical locations that store computing infrastructure, allowing secure and reliable access to cloud platforms. The global embrace of AI
Qualcomm Inc, the world’s biggest seller of smartphone processors, gave an upbeat forecast for sales and profit in the current period, suggesting demand for handsets is increasing after a two-year slump. Revenue in the three months ended in June will be US$8.8 billion to US$9.6 billion, the company said in a statement Wednesday. Excluding certain items, earnings will be US$2.15 to US$2.35 a share. Analysts had projected sales of US$9.08 billion and earnings of US$2.16 a share. The outlook signals that the smartphone market has begun to bounce back, tracking with Qualcomm’s forecast that demand would gradually recover this year. The San