ELECTRONICS
Kindle, Simple Touch at war
Amazon.com and bookselling giant Barnes & Noble dueled on Tuesday for the devotion of digital book lovers with bargain-priced versions of their popular electronic readers. Barnes & Noble unveiled a lean new Simple Touch Reader boasting a touch screen, months-long battery life and a price of US$139. The Simple Touch Reader featuring a 6-inch, black-and-white touch screen was available for order at nook.com and is to begin shipping on June 10. Within hours of the Nook announcement, Amazon released a version of its Kindle 3G e-reader discounted to US$164, with the price subsidized by on-screen ads. Kindle 3G with Special Offers was intended to build on the success of a Wi-Fi-only model that has become the hottest-selling Amazon e-reader in the five weeks since it was made available with a US$114 price tag.
CHIPMAKERS
Weak quarter expected
Applied Materials Inc forecast weak quarterly revenue, saying concerns about a tough economy have led chipmakers to delay spending to expand capacity, pushing down the company’s shares. Following Japan’s earthquake and tsunami on March 11, investors have worried that robust chip equipment spending could slow despite soaring sales of Apple Inc’s iPhones, iPads and a slew of competing mobile gadgets. Chief financial officer George Davis warned analysts on a conference call that Applied Materials may not achieve its annual fiscal forecast of more than US$11 billion in revenue if its customers don’t see signs of stronger consumer demand. Executives pointed to higher fuel costs and inflation in emerging markets. Some investors believe that chip companies may be spending too quickly on manufacturing expansion and could find themselves slashing capital expenditures next year.
JAPAN
Exports drop 12.5 percent
Exports dropped last month, bearing the brunt of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, which destroyed factories and caused massive production losses across the nation, the government said yesterday. Exports fell 12.5 percent year-on-year, the biggest drop in 18 months, to ￥5.16 trillion (US$62.8 billion). Imports rose 8.9 percent to ￥5.62 trillion, resulting in a trade deficit for the first time in three months, the Ministry of Finance said. “Exports fell sharply as Japanese manufacturers simply could not produce goods due to severe supply shortages following the earthquake,” said Hiroshi Watanabe, an economist at the Daiwa Institute of Research. The ministry said it was the first time in 31 years Japan posted a trade deficit for the month of April. Among exports, auto shipments took a beating, dropping a staggering 67 percent last month, while semiconductors fell 19 percent.
GERMANY
Consumer confidence drops
The eurozone debt crisis and higher energy prices have sapped the country’s consumer sentiment, resulting in a third consecutive drop in the GfK index, the research institute said yesterday. On the basis of a survey of 2,000 people done this month, the forecast index for next month dropped to 5.5 points from 5.7 points this month. “The worsening of the debt crisis in Greece and continuing high energy prices are dampening the optimism that German consumers have been exhibiting up to now,” a GfK statement said. A breakdown of the results showed that shopper’s propensity to make large purchases had declined and that dogged inflation had raised fears related to personal revenues.
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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