■ Forex
Dollar falls against yen
The dollar fell against the yen on concerns Secretary of State Colin Powell will use his appearance tomorrow before the UN Security Council to build a case for a war against Iraq. The dollar fell to ?120.11 at 4:07pm in Tokyo from ?120.29 late yesterday in New York. Earlier the dollar rose as high at ?120.57, its highest level in more than six weeks. Against the euro it was at US$1.0805, from US$1.0795. "There's just too much nervousness over what is going to happen in Iraq to keep buying the dollar," said Noriaki Masuda, a currency dealer at UFJ Bank Ltd. "Powell's speech at the UN is going to keep weighing on the dollar," which could fall to ?119.80 today, he said.
■ Electronics
Sony to focus on design
Sony Corp, the second-biggest consumer-electronics maker, is returning to emphasizing design in differentiating its products from others, as competition that forced it to lower prices remains, the New York Times said. Consumer electronics rivals, including No. 1 Matsushita Electric Industrial Co, are also overhauling their design centers, further pressuring Sony, the paper said. Less than half of Sony's fiscal third-quarter profit comes from consumer electronics because it lowered prices to compete, the Times said. Sony's design centers in New York, Japan, Europe and elsewhere in Asia work on about 1,500 products a year, with about 20 percent being completely new, the paper said. The company is also figuring out how it can use MP3 technology, which makes files containing songs or other audio data, while keeping its Columbia Pictures and Columbia Records movies and recordings copyright protected.
■ Software
Microsoft wins delay
Microsoft Corp won't have to bundle Java into Windows while it appeals an order to include the Sun Microsystems Inc. software in the operating system that powers 95 percent of the world's personal computers. The 4th US Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Virginia, granted Microsoft's request to suspend a judge's Jan. 21 order until the appellate panel decides the case. Microsoft, the world's largest software maker, argues that being forced to put Java in Windows is unjustified and would harm its business. Sun and Microsoft are skirmishing in court as they battle for the emerging market for Web services. The Internet applications link PCs with handheld devices such as mobile phones and allow consumers to buy airline tickets, book restaurant tables or make other purchases.
■ Crude oil
Prices start to stabilize
Crude oil was little changed after falling Monday for a second session as the weakening of a two-month strike in Venezuela signaled rising production from the world's fifth-biggest exporter. The strike ended at the weekend for all but the nation's oil workers. Venezuela's output has climbed to 1.8 million barrels, President Hugo Chavez said Sunday. That compares with about 3 million barrels a day, or about 4 percent of the world's total, before the strike began on Dec. 2. "My estimate would be for production to be up to 2 million barrels a day by the start of March, and to 80 percent of previous levels by the end of May," said Alan Viergutz, chairman of Venezuela oil services company Grupo Centec in Caracas.Agencies
FALLING BEHIND: Samsung shares have declined more than 20 percent this year, as the world’s largest chipmaker struggles in key markets and plays catch-up to rival SK Hynix Samsung Electronics Co is laying off workers in Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand as part of a plan to reduce its global headcount by thousands of jobs, sources familiar with the situation said. The layoffs could affect about 10 percent of its workforces in those markets, although the numbers for each subsidiary might vary, said one of the sources, who asked not to be named because the matter is private. Job cuts are planned for other overseas subsidiaries and could reach 10 percent in certain markets, the source said. The South Korean company has about 147,000 in staff overseas, more than half
Taipei is today suspending its US$2.5 trillion stock market as Super Typhoon Krathon approaches Taiwan with strong winds and heavy rain. The nation is not conducting securities, currency or fixed-income trading, statements from its stock and currency exchanges said. Yesterday, schools and offices were closed in several cities and counties in southern and eastern Taiwan, including in the key industrial port city of Kaohsiung. Taiwan, which started canceling flights, ship sailings and some train services earlier this week, has wind and rain advisories in place for much of the island. It regularly experiences typhoons, and in July shut offices and schools as
An Indian factory producing iPhone components resumed work yesterday after a fire that halted production — the third blaze to disrupt Apple Inc’s local supply chain since the start of last year. Local industrial behemoth Tata Group’s plant in Tamil Nadu, which was shut down by the unexplained fire on Saturday, is a key linchpin of Apple’s nascent supply chain in the country. A spokesperson for subsidiary Tata Electronics Pvt yesterday said that the company would restart work in “many areas of the facility today.” “We’ve been working diligently since Saturday to support our team and to identify the cause of the fire,”
TECH PARTNERSHIP: The deal with Arizona-based Amkor would provide TSMC with advanced packing and test capacities, a requirement to serve US customers Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) is collaborating with Amkor Technology Inc to provide local advanced packaging and test capacities in Arizona to address customer requirements for geographical flexibility in chip manufacturing. As part of the agreement, TSMC, the world’s biggest contract chipmaker, would contract turnkey advanced packaging and test services from Amkor at their planned facility in Peoria, Arizona, a joint statement released yesterday said. TSMC would leverage these services to support its customers, particularly those using TSMC’s advanced wafer fabrication facilities in Phoenix, Arizona, it said. The companies would jointly define the specific packaging technologies, such as TSMC’s Integrated
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