TECHNOLOGY
Apple fixing security flaw
Apple Inc on Friday said it was working to patch a vulnerability that hackers could use to break into the company’s popular iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch gadgets. Engineers at the California firm are fixing a weakness pointed out by the German Federal Office for Information Security (BSI). “We are aware of this reported issue and developing a fix that will be available in an upcoming software update,” Apple spokeswoman Trudy Muller said. BSI warned this week of a flaw that would let hackers infiltrate Apple mobile devices by duping users into opening PDF document files booby-trapped with malicious computer code.
INTERNET
LinkedIn gets more friends
LinkedIn leapfrogged Myspace last month to become the second-largest social network in the US in terms of traffic behind Facebook, tracking firm comScore reported on Friday. LinkedIn had 33.9 million unique US visitors last month compared with 33.5 million for Myspace, which was sold last week by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. Twitter was next with 30.6 million unique US visitors last month, comScore said. Facebook was the runaway leader with 160.9 million unique US visitors during the month, according to comScore. Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg announced this week that the site now has 750 million users worldwide.
BANKING
Moody’s lowers VTB rating
Moody’s ratings agency downgraded Russia’s second-biggest bank, VTB, on Friday following its controversial acquisition of a debt-ridden rival and subsequent need to raise fresh cash. The downgrade came after VTB took over the Bank of Moscow — the country’s fifth-largest bank but one that holds US$9 billion in bad debt — a move Moody’s said exposed the state-run lender to new dangers. Moody’s said it was cutting VTB’s rating’s outlook to “Negative” from “Stable” in a move that foreshadows a possible downgrade. It also dropped the Bank of Moscow’s financial strength rating to “E+” from “D-.” A downgrade typically makes it more expensive for a company to raise fresh funds and is particularly painful for VTB because it is in the process of raising funds for an additional share acquisition in the Bank of Moscow. Moody’s analyst Eugene Tarzimanov said the ratings change “reflects a higher risk that [VTB’s] ... capitalization could weaken as a result of the planned consolidation of Bank of Moscow.”
BANKING
Bank staff continue strike
Standard Chartered PLC’s South Korean unit may temporarily shutter some branches as a strike by employees heads into a third week, the worst labor dispute involving foreign banks in South Korea in more than five years. Standard Chartered First Bank Korea Ltd will halt operations at 43 of its 392 branches from tomorrow unless an agreement with the labor union is reached, Joo Hee-sun, a spokeswoman for the Seoul-based unit, said by telephone yesterday. The strike began on June 27. The strike comes as London-based Standard Chartered, which entered South Korea in 2005, struggles to attract borrowers in Asia’s fourth-largest economy. South Korea accounted for about 11 percent of Standard Chartered’s US$16 billion in revenue last year, according to Bloomberg data. About half the employees at the South Korean unit will protest a plan that would determine compensation based on individual performance, union spokesman Bae Kwang-jin said on June 27
BYPASSING CHINA TARIFFS: In the first five months of this year, Foxconn sent US$4.4bn of iPhones to the US from India, compared with US$3.7bn in the whole of last year Nearly all the iPhones exported by Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團) from India went to the US between March and last month, customs data showed, far above last year’s average of 50 percent and a clear sign of Apple Inc’s efforts to bypass high US tariffs imposed on China. The numbers, being reported by Reuters for the first time, show that Apple has realigned its India exports to almost exclusively serve the US market, when previously the devices were more widely distributed to nations including the Netherlands and the Czech Republic. During March to last month, Foxconn, known as Hon Hai Precision Industry
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and the University of Tokyo (UTokyo) yesterday announced the launch of the TSMC-UTokyo Lab to promote advanced semiconductor research, education and talent development. The lab is TSMC’s first laboratory collaboration with a university outside Taiwan, the company said in a statement. The lab would leverage “the extensive knowledge, experience, and creativity” of both institutions, the company said. It is located in the Asano Section of UTokyo’s Hongo, Tokyo, campus and would be managed by UTokyo faculty, guided by directors from UTokyo and TSMC, the company said. TSMC began working with UTokyo in 2019, resulting in 21 research projects,
Ashton Hall’s morning routine involves dunking his head in iced Saratoga Spring Water. For the company that sells the bottled water — Hall’s brand of choice for drinking, brushing his teeth and submerging himself — that is fantastic news. “We’re so thankful to this incredible fitness influencer called Ashton Hall,” Saratoga owner Primo Brands Corp’s CEO Robbert Rietbroek said on an earnings call after Hall’s morning routine video went viral. “He really helped put our brand on the map.” Primo Brands, which was not affiliated with Hall when he made his video, is among the increasing number of companies benefiting from influencer
Quanta Computer Inc (廣達) chairman Barry Lam (林百里) yesterday expressed a downbeat view about the prospects of humanoid robots, given high manufacturing costs and a lack of target customers. Despite rising demand and high expectations for humanoid robots, high research-and-development costs and uncertain profitability remain major concerns, Lam told reporters following the company’s annual shareholders’ meeting in Taoyuan. “Since it seems a bit unworthy to use such high-cost robots to do household chores, I believe robots designed for specific purposes would be more valuable and present a better business opportunity,” Lam said Instead of investing in humanoid robots, Quanta has opted to invest
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