■ Semiconductors
Intel delays chip update
In the latest misstep for the world's largest chip maker, Intel Corp said a faster version of its flagship Pen-tium 4 microprocessor will not be available by the end of the year as previously pro-mised. The company told PC makers this week that the 4-gigahertz chip will not ship until the first quar-ter of next year. Currently, the fastest model runs at 3.6 gigahertz. "We felt by adjusting the schedule for the products, we could better meet our customers' volume requirements and their high expectations," said Intel spokeswoman Laura Anderson on Friday. She declined to elaborate on the reason for the delay. Last week, chief executive Craig Barrett sent a message to all employees urging them to "focus intensely on actions and attitudes that will con-tinue Intel's strong track record."
■ Labor
Subsidies suggested
A senior member of Singa-pore's labor federation has suggested that the govern-ment subsidize low-paid workers to reduce the city-state's dependence on foreign laborers, a news report said yesterday. Offering incentive packages for jobs with meager pay might attract Singaporean workers, The Straits Times newspaper quoted Ong Ah Heng, secretary general of the National Trades Union Congress, as saying. "A local may be willing to do the job, but when he receives the payroll, how is he going to pay his bills?" Ong was quoted as saying. He suggested the govern-ment provide subsidies of S$300 to S$400 (US$175-US$240) a month to supplement salaries for workers such as grass-cutters, which can be as low as S$700, the paper said. Singapore's labor leaders have warned in the past few weeks that the country faces rising structural unemployment and might need to reduce its high number of foreign workers.
■ Crime
Enron's Rice pleads guilty
Kenneth Rice, the former head of Enron Corp's high-speed Internet unit, pleaded guilty on Friday to one count of securities fraud and agreed to cooperate with federal prosecutors pursuing other cases related to the company's collapse. Rice faces a maximum of 10 years in prison and a fine of up to US$1 million. Sentencing was set for Jan. 31. The plea agreement with federal prosecutors also requires him to forfeit US$13.7 million in cash and property. Rice was charged n May last year with selling 1.2 million shares of Enron stock for more than US$76 million while he knew Enron Broadband Services was failing. The Justice Department says the unit never made a dime and was abandoned shortly after Enron's bankruptcy filing in December 2001.
■ Aviation
Alitalia losses grow
Italy's troubled airline Alitalia announced on Fri-day that it had incurred losses of 330 million euros (US$400 million) in the first half of this year. Net losses last year were 519.2 million euros compared to a profit of 93.1 million euros in 2002. The board of Alitalia also gave its go-ahead to the broad outlines of a rescue plan put forward by the airline's new boss Giancarlo Cimoli aimed at balancing the books by the end of 2006. The restruc-turing scheme is based on reduced staff costs, estab-lishing alliances and outsourcing activities such as airport services and aircraft maintenance.
MULTIFACETED: A task force has analyzed possible scenarios and created responses to assist domestic industries in dealing with US tariffs, the economics minister said The Executive Yuan is tomorrow to announce countermeasures to US President Donald Trump’s planned reciprocal tariffs, although the details of the plan would not be made public until Monday next week, Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) said yesterday. The Cabinet established an economic and trade task force in November last year to deal with US trade and tariff related issues, Kuo told reporters outside the legislature in Taipei. The task force has been analyzing and evaluating all kinds of scenarios to identify suitable responses and determine how best to assist domestic industries in managing the effects of Trump’s tariffs, he
TIGHT-LIPPED: UMC said it had no merger plans at the moment, after Nikkei Asia reported that the firm and GlobalFoundries were considering restarting merger talks United Microelectronics Corp (UMC, 聯電), the world’s No. 4 contract chipmaker, yesterday launched a new US$5 billion 12-inch chip factory in Singapore as part of its latest effort to diversify its manufacturing footprint amid growing geopolitical risks. The new factory, adjacent to UMC’s existing Singapore fab in the Pasir Res Wafer Fab Park, is scheduled to enter volume production next year, utilizing mature 22-nanometer and 28-nanometer process technologies, UMC said in a statement. The company plans to invest US$5 billion during the first phase of the new fab, which would have an installed capacity of 30,000 12-inch wafers per month, it said. The
Taiwan’s official purchasing managers’ index (PMI) last month rose 0.2 percentage points to 54.2, in a second consecutive month of expansion, thanks to front-loading demand intended to avoid potential US tariff hikes, the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER, 中華經濟研究院) said yesterday. While short-term demand appeared robust, uncertainties rose due to US President Donald Trump’s unpredictable trade policy, CIER president Lien Hsien-ming (連賢明) told a news conference in Taipei. Taiwan’s economy this year would be characterized by high-level fluctuations and the volatility would be wilder than most expect, Lien said Demand for electronics, particularly semiconductors, continues to benefit from US technology giants’ effort
‘SWASTICAR’: Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s close association with Donald Trump has prompted opponents to brand him a ‘Nazi’ and resulted in a dramatic drop in sales Demonstrators descended on Tesla Inc dealerships across the US, and in Europe and Canada on Saturday to protest company chief Elon Musk, who has amassed extraordinary power as a top adviser to US President Donald Trump. Waving signs with messages such as “Musk is stealing our money” and “Reclaim our country,” the protests largely took place peacefully following fiery episodes of vandalism on Tesla vehicles, dealerships and other facilities in recent weeks that US officials have denounced as terrorism. Hundreds rallied on Saturday outside the Tesla dealership in Manhattan. Some blasted Musk, the world’s richest man, while others demanded the shuttering of his