PRECIOUS METALS
Gold hits record high
Gold closed at a record high US$1,357-US$1,358 an ounce in Hong Kong on Thursday, up from Wednesday’s close of US$1,348.50-US$1,349.50. It opened at US$1,339-US$1,340. Dealers are buying up the precious metal as the greenback remains under pressure amid concerns over the global economy. Dollar-based commodities, such as oil, become cheaper for investors with foreign currencies when the US dollar drops. Benchmark oil for November delivery was up US$0.36 to US$83.59 a barrel at late afternoon Singapore time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
TRANSPORTATION
Eurostar buying new trains
Eurostar International Ltd, which operates high-speed trains between London and the European continent, said yesterday it would buy 10 new trains from German manufacturer Siemens in a ￡700 million (US$1.1 billion) program to upgrade and expand its fleet. Eurostar said the new 900-passenger trains would be capable of operating anywhere on Europe’s high-speed rail network as the company looks beyond its current destinations of London, Paris and Brussels. Contract details remain to be negotiated, Eurostar said.
ENERGY
BP inks Caspian Sea deal
British oil giant BP said yesterday it had signed a 30-year deal with Azerbaijan’s state company Socar for joint exploration and production of a major Caspian Sea gas field, but gave no financial details. The Shafag-Asiman block is situated 125km southeast of Baku, and covers an area of around 1,100km2 that has never been explored before. Under the terms of the venture, which will last for 30 years, BP will be the operator with a 50 percent stake, while Socar will have the remaining equity.
REAL ESTATE
British prices plummet
British house prices plunged last month by a record 3.6 percent, home-loans provider Halifax said yesterday, unveiling the biggest monthly drop since the data was first compiled in 1983. Halifax blamed the sharp price drop on an increasing number of properties on the market, and falling demand arising from the uncertain economic outlook. Halifax said the average home price stood at ￡162,096 last month, 2.6 percent higher than a year earlier.
AUTOMOBILES
Daihatsu recalls minicars
Daihatsu Motor Co, a subsidiary of Toyota, is recalling more than 880,000 minicars in Japan due to defective door mirrors. The recall of 882,006 cars was due to loose attachments that could cause the mirrors to fall off, Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism said yesterday. There have been no reports of accidents due to the defective mirrors. The recalled cars are only sold in Japan, the ministry said. By law, automakers must inform the ministry of a recall.
CONSUMER
Cisco eyes videophones
Cisco Systems Inc says it plans to sell a US$599 box that turns living-room TV sets into big videophones. It’s the first entry by the world’s largest maker of computer networking gear into home videoconferencing, a market that’s been dominated by free, PC--oriented services such as Skype SA. Cisco said on Wednesday that the “umi” device would include a camera and will be controlled by a remote. The service will cost US$25 per month in addition to the purchase price.
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
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
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
Chizuko Kimura has become the first female sushi chef in the world to win a Michelin star, fulfilling a promise she made to her dying husband to continue his legacy. The 54-year-old Japanese chef regained the Michelin star her late husband, Shunei Kimura, won three years ago for their Sushi Shunei restaurant in Paris. For Shunei Kimura, the star was a dream come true. However, the joy was short-lived. He died from cancer just three months later in June 2022. He was 65. The following year, the restaurant in the heart of Montmartre lost its star rating. Chizuko Kimura insisted that the new star is still down
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