■Computers
Acer licenses trademark
Taiwan’s personal computer maker Acer Inc (宏碁) said it will pay US$67.5 million for a license to use Founder Technology Group Corp’s (方正) PC-related trademarks for seven years. Acer will pay a further 51 million yuan for information technology systems, copyrights and patents from Shanghai-based Founder’s PC business, and 68 million yuan for customer-service and retail operations, the Taipei-based company said in an exchange filing. Acer unveiled its tie-up with Founder earlier this month.
■Finance
Yen surge raises concerns
Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda said Japan will take “bold” action if necessary to curb the yen’s surge to a 15-year high and called on the Bank of Japan (BOJ) to do more to spur economic growth. The comments echoed those on Friday by Prime Minister Naoto Kan, who is pushing the central bank to ease monetary policy given persistent deflation and the yen’s impact on export earnings. Kan said he expects to speak with BOJ Governor Masaaki Shirakawa soon. The BOJ, which is scheduled to hold its next policy meeting on Sept. 6-7, may hold an emergency session early next week to consider more easing, Nikkei English News reported yesterday.
■Mining
Vale to cut iron ore prices
Brazilian mining giant Vale SA is slashing its price for iron ore by about 10 percent, saying the cut is in line with a drop in spot prices in China. The world’s largest producer of iron ore did not give more details in a statement issued on Friday. O Estado de S. Paulo newspaper said Vale’s iron ore currently sells for US$150 per ton and that should now drop to US$135. It added that since 20 percent of the world’s steel is manufactured with iron ore from Vale, the price reduction should have a significant impact in Asia and Europe.
■Mining
BHP mulls coking coal cut
BHP Billiton Ltd, the world’s largest mining company, may agree with Japanese steelmakers to cut coking coal prices by between 4 percent and 10 percent in the fourth quarter, Nikkei English News reported yesterday. BHP proposed a price of about US$215 a metric tonne, down from US$225 in the third quarter, for the coal used to make steel, Nikkei said. The company raised the price of coking coal in the third quarter by more than 10 percent from the April-to-June period.
■Internet
DOJ probes Google
Federal regulators are taking a closer look at Google Inc’s plans to buy travel technology company ITA Software Inc in a US$700 million all-cash deal announced last month. In a blog post on Friday, Google said the Department of Justice has asked it for more information about the proposed acquisition, which could position the search giant to compete with popular travel sites such as Expedia, Travelocity and Orbitz. ITA Software, provides technology that helps run the reservation systems of several airlines.
■Automobiles
Ford recalls vehicles
Ford Motor Co says it is recalling 575,000 older model Windstar vans in the US and Canada because of the possibility that the rear axles can corrode and break. The recall covers vehicles from 1998 to 2003 sold in states where the heavy use of road salt can cause more corrosion. That includes Canada, New England, the Mid-Atlantic states and the Great Lakes region. Ford says it plans to start notifying owners on Sept. 27.
PROTECTIONISM: China hopes to help domestic chipmakers gain more market share while preparing local tech companies for the possibility of more US sanctions Beijing is stepping up pressure on Chinese companies to buy locally produced artificial intelligence (AI) chips instead of Nvidia Corp products, part of the nation’s effort to expand its semiconductor industry and counter US sanctions. Chinese regulators have been discouraging companies from purchasing Nvidia’s H20 chips, which are used to develop and run AI models, sources familiar with the matter said. The policy has taken the form of guidance rather than an outright ban, as Beijing wants to avoid handicapping its own AI start-ups and escalating tensions with the US, said the sources, who asked not to be identified because the
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
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
Her white-gloved, waistcoated uniform impeccable, 22-year-old Hazuki Okuno boards a bullet train replica to rehearse the strict protocols behind the smooth operation of a Japanese institution turning 60 Tuesday. High-speed Shinkansen trains began running between Tokyo and Osaka on Oct. 1, 1964, heralding a new era for rail travel as Japan grew into an economic superpower after World War II. The service remains integral to the nation’s economy and way of life — so keeping it dazzlingly clean, punctual and accident-free is a serious job. At a 10-story, state-of-the-art staff training center, Okuno shouted from the window and signaled to imaginary colleagues, keeping
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