Oil prices rose after OPEC+ signaled that it would pause output increases next quarter, following a modest hike for next month.Brent for January rose above US$65 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate was near US$61. OPEC and allies on Sunday said they would raise output by 137,000 barrels a day ne
CURRENCY VALUATION: Heavy intervention early in the year leaves the central bank limited maneuvering room to avoid censure by the US Treasury Department
The New Taiwan dollar’s rally is boxing in the central bank, leaving it with limited room to intervene to avoid a “currency manipulator” label from the US.Heavy intervention in the first half of the year leaves the central bank with a buffer of US$4.5 billion for the second half, Bloomberg said. Tha
Taiwan’s manufacturing sector returned to expansion mode last month for the first time in five months, signaling improving industrial momentum driven by robust global technology demand, the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER, 中華經濟研究院) said yesterday.The purchasing managers’ index clim
Taiwan’s new car sales last month registered a second month of growth, growing 7.1 percent to 34,511 units from 32,227 units, reflecting momentum in the local car market, market research group U-Car said in a report yesterday. On an annual basis, new car sales rose 3.9 percent.U-Car attributed the g
A vendor selling bananas yesterday waits for customers at Lambaro traditional market in Aceh Besar, Indonesia.
TEMPORARY TRUCE: China has made concessions to ease rare earth trade controls, among others, while Washington holds fire on a 100% tariff on all Chinese goods
China is effectively suspending implementation of additional export controls on rare earth metals and terminating investigations targeting US companies in the semiconductor supply chain, the White House announced.The White House on Saturday issued a fact sheet outlining some details of the trade pac
returns reign: The market is rewarding corporations whose expeditures have paid off, while showing fang at those whose spending fails to impress investors
A week that saw the US Federal Reserve cut interest rates and dozens of US companies report earnings boiled down to a single theme: artificial intelligence (AI).Results from US technology giants showed that the world’s biggest corporations are still pouring billions into AI infrastructure, cheering
Dutch chipmaker Nexperia BV’s China unit yesterday said that it had established sufficient inventories of finished goods and works-in-progress, and that its supply chain remained secure and stable after its parent halted wafer supplies.The Dutch company suspended supplies of wafers to its Chinese as
Gasoline and diesel prices are to increase NT$0.3 and NT$0.2 per liter respectively this week, CPC Corp, Taiwan (台灣中油) and Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) said yesterday, after international oil prices fluctuated slightly last week, with the average price higher than the previous week.Effective to
OPEC+ was set to agree on last night on another modest increase in oil output targets, three sources familiar with the talks said, as the producers’ group executes plans to regain market share due to rising supply glut fears.OPEC+ has raised output targets by more than 2.7 million barrels per day —
Taiwan beech trees are pictured at Taipingshan National Forest Recreation Area in Yilan County yesterday. As fall sets in, the beech trees’ leaves have begun to turn from vivid green to golden yellow; the best viewing period is within the next two to three weeks.
“It’s never too late to start a new hobby,” said 89-year-old Irish harp-maker Noel Anderson, one of only a few artisans still making the intricate instrument, a national symbol of Ireland.A retired wood and metalwork teacher, Anderson only took up the niche craft seven years ago, making his first ha
China said yesterday it would exempt some Nexperia Holding NV chips from an export ban that alarmed European businesses, days after trade talks between the leaders of the world’s two largest economies.Anxiety over chip shortages began when Dutch officials invoked a Cold War-era law in September to e
Emmanuel knows only too well the allure of illegal gold prospecting in the protected Comoe National Park for the many young people without prospects in Ivory Coast’s troubled northeast. “Young people come back from the park with enough money to buy themselves motorcycles, or even to build their own
RUN IT BACK: A succesful first project working with hyperscalers to design chips encouraged MediaTek to start a second project, aiming to hit stride in 2028
MediaTek Inc (聯發科), the world’s biggest smartphone chip supplier, yesterday said it is engaging a second hyperscaler to help design artificial intelligence (AI) accelerators used in data centers following a similar project expected to generate revenue streams soon. The first AI accelerator project i
Contract electronics maker Compal Electronics Inc (仁寶) said its board has approved the construction of its first server manufacturing plants in the US through its wholly owned subsidiary, Compal USA Technology Inc (CUT).CUT is to lease a plant facility outside Austin, Texas, for US$65.67 million for
The nation’s major solar module and cell manufacturer on Wednesday gave an upbeat outlook for next year, aided by China’s stringent curbs on excess solar capacity and growing demand from the US after multiple solar exporters, China primarily, are barred from entering the US market.Based on the rules
kNOCK-ON EFFECTS: While a meeting of national leaders helped, national holidays and weak demand saw sluggish showings for last month’s factory output
China’s factory activity slumped for the longest streak in more than nine years, prompting fresh calls for greater policy support even as the country reached a trade truce with the US.The official manufacturing purchasing managers’ index fell more than expected to 49 last month, suggesting activity
STATE AND CORPS: Nvidia will help supply the South Korean government, Samsung, Hyundai and SK Group with accelerator chips
Nvidia Corp has forged a landmark deal to supply technology to South Korea’s biggest companies, part of an aggressive push to expand artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure around the world.Under agreements brokered with the country’s Ministry of Science and a trio of corporations — Samsung Elec
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