TRADE
Japan, US conclude talks
Japan and the US have finished talks on a trade deal with no indication on how the two sides have responded to US President Donald Trump’s threat to slap tariffs on the US$50 billion in vehicles and parts shipped by Japan to the US annually. Japanese Minister of Foreign Affairs Toshimitsu Motegi on Monday told reporters in New York that a ceremony would be held this week and that he would explain more about auto tariffs at that time.
AUTOMAKERS
NIO to cut staff amid losses
NIO Inc (蔚來汽車) reported a net loss of 3.29 billion yuan (US$463.03 million) in the three months through June, marking another loss for the electric vehicle maker, which said that it would cut its global staff by more than 20 percent to cope with adverse market conditions. Shanghai-based NIO, known as China’s Tesla Inc, said in a statement that revenue fell 7.5 percent from the previous quarter, while vehicle sales dropped 7.9 percent.
INTERNET
Google launches Play Pass
Alphabet Inc’s Google on Monday said that it is rolling out Google Play Pass, a subscription service that gives Android users access to more than 350 apps and games without ads and in-app purchases. Priced at US$4.99 per month, the service is similar to Apple Inc’s Apple Arcade, the iPhone maker’s gaming subscription service for mobile devices and desktop computers. Google Play Pass would be available on Android devices in the US this week and is to be rolled out to additional countries soon, the company said.
PAPERMAKERS
Sun Paper receives permit
Arkansas environmental officials have approved an air permit for a Chinese company’s US$1.8 billion paper mill, which has been delayed by Trump’s trade dispute with China. The Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality on Monday approved the permit for Sun Paper Group’s (太陽紙業集團) mill in Arkadelphia and set emissions limits for the facility. The plant is to produce liner board for cardboard boxes. Design engineering can now begin, but a construction date has not been set, Sun Paper consultant Ray Dillon said.
AUTOMAKERS
Honda to phase out diesel
Honda Motor Co on Monday said that it would phase out its diesel vehicles by 2021 in favor of models with electric propulsion systems as the Japanese automaker moves to electrify all of its European cars by 2025. The plan is part of a long-term goal to make electric vehicles, including battery-powered vehicles, account for two-thirds of its lineups by 2030, from less than 10 percent now. By next year, according to EU targets, carbon dioxide emissions must be cut to 95g per kilometer for 95 percent of cars, from the current 120.5g average.
BONDS
Eurozone yields remain low
The eurozone’s bond yields yesterday held near Monday’s week-and-a-half lows after a German sentiment survey failed to ease concern about rising recession risks. German business sentiment improved this month as companies took a better view of current conditions, but their expectations deteriorated as Europe’s largest economy teetered on the brink of recession, the Ifo Institute for Economic Research sentiment survey showed. A slight improvement in the Ifo business climate index does not suggest a change of trend, the institute said.
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
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
EUROPE ON HOLD: Among a flurry of announcements, Intel said it would postpone new factories in Germany and Poland, but remains committed to its US expansion Intel Corp chief executive officer Pat Gelsinger has landed Amazon.com Inc’s Amazon Web Services (AWS) as a customer for the company’s manufacturing business, potentially bringing work to new plants under construction in the US and boosting his efforts to turn around the embattled chipmaker. Intel and AWS are to coinvest in a custom semiconductor for artificial intelligence computing — what is known as a fabric chip — in a “multiyear, multibillion-dollar framework,” Intel said in a statement on Monday. The work would rely on Intel’s 18A process, an advanced chipmaking technology. Intel shares rose more than 8 percent in late trading after the
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