■ Trade
US retail sales higher
Strong consumer demand and record gasoline prices pushed US retail sales higher last month and helped propel the US trade deficit to a record in April, a pair of government reports said on Monday. Retail sales rose a greater-than-expected 1.2 percent last month to a seasonally adjusted US$335.8 billion. Gasoline sales rose 4.0 percent, the biggest gain since February last year, aided by record high gasoline prices which, however, have failed so far to dampen overall consumer demand. The bright retail picture was tempered by a drop in furniture and home furnishing sales and a larger decline in purchases of building materials and garden equipment. The trade deficit with China jumped nearly 15 percent in April to US$12 billion, as imports from the US' manufacturing rival surged to their highest level in six months and exports declined nearly 20 percent.
■ Gambling
Casino merger discussed
Boards for Mandalay Resort Group and MGM Mirage were meeting yesterday to approve a US$4.8 billion cash offer that would merge the two gambling companies into the industry's dominant casino operator. MGM Mirage said management would recommend that the board sign off on the deal of US$71 per share when it gathered yesterday morning. Mandalay's board was scheduled to gather later yesterday. MGM Mirage made the final bid late Sunday after raising its initial offer of US$68 per share. The merger would give MGM Mirage control of 10 premium resorts on the Las Vegas Strip, including the posh Bellagio, The Mirage and MGM Grand, the largest hotel in the world. It would also own the 654-room Boardwalk, a smaller, low-end property located on the famous stretch.
■ Electronics
Dell to expand TV line
Dell Inc, the world's biggest personal computer maker, said it plans to expand its line of flat-panel televisions and open retail kiosks in time for the holidays to increase its consumer electronics sales. Dell, which began selling TVs last fall, will sell more liquid crystal display models as well as new plasma TVs at "aggressive" prices, Michael George, general manager of the US consumer business, said at a press conference. Dell began selling digital music players and printers, in addition to TVs, over the past year to increase its consumer business as PC prices fell and profit margins narrowed. Consumers can expect a plasma TV model larger than 30 inches, the size of the largest LCD TV Dell now offers, George said.
■ Electronics
Infineon sets up new unit
Infineon Technologies AG set up a new unit, Invot AG, as the chipmaker readies itself for a restructuring, the Financial Times Deutschland newspaper reported, citing an unidentified company spokesman. The new unit, based in Munich, will distribute chip components, systems and software, the paper said, without giving further details. The new unit follows speculation that Infineon plans to split off its computer memory-chip business or put it under a separate venture following chief executive Ulrich Schumacher's departure in March.
The subsidiary of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) in Kumamoto, Japan, turned a profit in the first quarter of this year, marking the first time the first fab of the unit has become profitable since mass production started at the end of 2024. According to the contract chipmaker’s financial statement released on Friday, Japan Advanced Semiconductor Manufacturing Inc (JASM), a joint venture running the fab in Kumamoto, posted NT$951 million (US$30.19 million) in profit in the January-to-March period, compared with a loss of NT$1.39 billion in the previous quarter, and a loss of NT$3.25 billion in the first quarter of
DRONE CENTRAL: Taiwan aims to become Asia’s democratic hub for drones, with most exports focused on high-quality military-grade models, an official said Taiwan’s drone industry is expected to expand significantly by 2030, producing 100,000 units per month and exporting half of them, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday. Current drone production capacity is about 15,000 units per month, but the industry can quickly scale up as demand increases, Industrial Development Administration Director-General Chiou Chyou-huey (邱求慧) told a news conference in Taipei. Taiwan’s drone output grew 2.5-fold last year to NT$12.9 billion (US$408.3 million) under a government program to develop the uncrewed vehicle sector, he said. The Executive Yuan in October last year approved plans to invest NT$44.2 billion into domestic production of uncrewed aerial
RESOLUTE BACKING: Two Republican senators are planning to introduce legislation that would impose immediate sanctions on China if it attempts to invade Taiwan US House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson on Sunday reaffirmed US congressional support for Taiwan, saying the US and “all freedom-loving people” have a stake in preventing China from seizing Taiwan by force. Johnson made the remarks in an interview with Fox News Sunday on US President Donald Trump’s summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) last week. In an interview that aired on Friday on Fox News, just as Trump wrapped up a high-stakes visit to China, he said he has yet to green-light a new US$14 billion arms package to Taiwan and that it “depends on China.” “It’s a very good
US President Donald Trump yesterday said he would speak to President William Lai (賴清德) as his administration considers whether to move ahead with a US$14 billion weapons sale to Taiwan — a potential arms deal that has drawn criticism from China. “Well, I’ll speak to him. I speak to everybody,” Trump told reporters yesterday when asked if he had any plans to call his counterpart, although he did not offer a time frame for when such a conversation could take place. Trump previously said he would speak to the person “that’s running Taiwan,” without specifying who he meant. “We have that situation very
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