AUSTRALIA
Big banks facing probe
The nation’s big banks are facing a probe by the competition regulator into mortgage pricing after failing to pass on in full the central bank’s latest cuts to official rates. Major lenders have been under sustained political criticism for holding back some of the rate cuts, and yesterday the government said it had directed the Competition and Consumer Commission to investigate. The probe would focus on how mortgages are priced, the difference in rates paid by new and existing customers, and barriers that might prevent customers switching lenders, Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said.
CHINA
Auto sales down 6.6 percent
Auto sales last month fell for the 15th month in 16, extending their unprecedented slump, despite government efforts to support the world’s largest auto market. Sales of sedans, sport utility vehicles, minivans and multipurpose vehicles dropped 6.6 percent from a year earlier to 1.81 million units, the China Passenger Car Association said in a statement on Saturday.
AUTOMOTIVE
Mack Truck workers strike
More than 3,600 members of the United Auto Workers on Sunday went on strike against Mack Truck, a subsidiary of AB Volvo, as the union’s strike against General Motors Co continued. The new walkout hit Mack Truck plants in Pennsylvania, Maryland and Florida. The union said it was standing up for fair pay, benefits and job protections for union members. The union began a strike against General Motors on Sept. 16, idling 48,000 union members.
ENERGY
Aramco provides timetable
Saudi Arabian Oil Co (Aramco) hopes to fix by the end of next month the last four key pieces of equipment damaged during attacks last month, company officials said on Saturday. Aramco restored oil production of about 10 million barrels per day (bpd) within 10 days and said it was on track to regain its maximum capacity of 12 million bpd by the end of next month. Meanwhile, the initial public offering of Aramco would be announced “very very soon,” chairman Yassir al-Rumayyan said.
MALAYSIA
No tax hike, minister says
Minister of Finance Lim Guan Eng (林冠英) said the government would not raise taxes unnecessarily, even as a trade dispute between two of its largest trading partners hampers its goal of achieving a balanced budget. The government would spend within its means and would not add taxes just to fund certain infrastructure projects, Lim said in a Bloomberg Television interview. To raise funds, the government would sell samurai bonds early next year and continue its pursuit of assets lost in the 1Malaysia Development Bhd state investment fund scandal, he said.
COWORKING
WeWork seeking bailout
WeWork Cos is considering a bailout that would hand control of the coworking giant to Softbank Group Corp, a person familiar with the matter said, one of two main options to rescue the once high-flying start-up. WeWork’s board and backers are also weighing another option: JPMorgan Chase & Co is leading discussions about a US$5 billion debt package, Bloomberg has reported. Either rescue package would ease a cash crunch that could leave the office-sharing company short of funds as soon as next month.
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
Malaysia’s leader yesterday announced plans to build a massive semiconductor design park, aiming to boost the Southeast Asian nation’s role in the global chip industry. A prominent player in the semiconductor industry for decades, Malaysia accounts for an estimated 13 percent of global back-end manufacturing, according to German tech giant Bosch. Now it wants to go beyond production and emerge as a chip design powerhouse too, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said. “I am pleased to announce the largest IC (integrated circuit) Design Park in Southeast Asia, that will house world-class anchor tenants and collaborate with global companies such as Arm [Holdings PLC],”