Microsoft Corp's ability to increase sales by buying companies or entering new businesses got a boost by the approval of an antitrust settlement between the world's top software maker and the Bush administration, investors said.
"This ruling allows Microsoft to be a capitalist company and compete in new markets, where they have a right to be competitive," said Heather O'Loughlin, an analyst at State Street Global Advisors, which manages US$760 billion and is one of Microsoft's largest shareholders.
Microsoft shares rose as high as US$57.18 in extended trading after US District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly approved most of a proposed settlement reached last year to an antitrust lawsuit the Justice Department brought in 1998. The stock dropped US$0.47 to US$53 at 4pm on the NASDAQ Stock Market. The judge denied requests by nine dissenting states to impose stiffer penalties.
The company is trying to counter slowing demand for personal computers by extending its reach into new areas such as software for cellular phones, server computers and entertainment devices.
The possibility that Kollar-Kotelly might order Microsoft to put some of its software code into the public domain or face other penalties slowed those expansion plans, investors said.
"This just takes off the shackles to let them use their cash horde more effectively to maybe buy back stock or buy other companies," said Don Gher, chief investment officer at Coldstream Capital Management.
UNCERTAINTY: Innolux activated a stringent supply chain management mechanism, as it did during the COVID-19 pandemic, to ensure optimal inventory levels for customers Flat-panel display makers AUO Corp (友達) and Innolux Corp (群創) yesterday said that about 12 to 20 percent of their display business is at risk of potential US tariffs and that they would relocate production or shipment destinations to mitigate the levies’ effects. US tariffs would have a direct impact of US$200 million on AUO’s revenue, company chairman Paul Peng (彭雙浪) told reporters on the sidelines of the Touch Taiwan trade show in Taipei yesterday. That would make up about 12 percent of the company’s overall revenue. To cope with the tariff uncertainty, AUO plans to allocate its production to manufacturing facilities in
Taiwan will prioritize the development of silicon photonics by taking advantage of its strength in the semiconductor industry to build another shield to protect the local economy, National Development Council (NDC) Minister Paul Liu (劉鏡清) said yesterday. Speaking at a meeting of the legislature’s Economics Committee, Liu said Taiwan already has the artificial intelligence (AI) industry as a shield, after the semiconductor industry, to safeguard the country, and is looking at new unique fields to build more economic shields. While Taiwan will further strengthen its existing shields, over the longer term, the country is determined to focus on such potential segments as
COLLABORATION: Given Taiwan’s key position in global supply chains, the US firm is discussing strategies with local partners and clients to deal with global uncertainties Advanced Micro Devices Inc (AMD) yesterday said it is meeting with local ecosystem partners, including Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), to discuss strategies, including long-term manufacturing, to navigate uncertainties such as US tariffs, as Taiwan occupies an important position in global supply chains. AMD chief executive officer Lisa Su (蘇姿丰) told reporters that Taiwan is an important part of the chip designer’s ecosystem and she is discussing with partners and customers in Taiwan to forge strong collaborations on different areas during this critical period. AMD has just become the first artificial-intelligence (AI) server chip customer of TSMC to utilize its advanced
While China’s leaders use their economic and political might to fight US President Donald Trump’s trade war “to the end,” its army of social media soldiers are embarking on a more humorous campaign online. Trump’s tariff blitz has seen Washington and Beijing impose eye-watering duties on imports from the other, fanning a standoff between the economic superpowers that has sparked global recession fears and sent markets into a tailspin. Trump says his policy is a response to years of being “ripped off” by other countries and aims to bring manufacturing to the US, forcing companies to employ US workers. However, China’s online warriors
RSS