INSURANCE
Irene costs insurers US$7bn
Hurricane Irene, which lashed the US east coast at the end of last month, will cost insurers about US$7 billion, the world’s top reinsurer Munich Re said on Friday. The estimate is considerably higher than the US$1.8billion to US$6 billion calculated by risk-assessment firms Eqecat and AirWorldwide. Munich Re said that because of continued flooding in the northeastern US, there remains considerable uncertainty to the loss estimates. The figure does not include damage covered under the US National Flood Insurance Program, it added. The reinsurer has already said that this year has been the worst year in history in terms of losses because of natural catastrophe, but still expects to finish this year with a net profit.
ECONOMY
Japan fears strength of yen
Japan’s Finance Minister Jun Azumi asked US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner to understand the risks posed by the yen’s strength when they met yesterday morning in Marseille, France. Azumi said he is concerned the currency’s appreciation might hamper the recovery from the earthquake, tsunami and radiation disaster that struck the nation this year, a senior Japanese finance ministry official said on condition of anonymity. The yen touched the strongest level in 10 years against the euro on Friday as concern about Greece’s fiscal health intensified. Countries including Japan and Switzerland have had to contend with gains in their currencies as a slowing US economy and deepening sovereign-debt woes in Europe boost investor demand for save-haven assets.
BANKING
Swiss bend on US demands
Switzerland’s government has “partially” agreed to a Washington ultimatum that information on US nationals who have money in the country be handed over, local media reported yesterday. According to the Swiss daily TagesAnzeiger, Swiss authorities, in a confidential letter to 10 local banks, said the US request could “be partially agreed upon,” but that the data transfer would have to be done by the banks themselves, not the government. The letter said the banks would need to provide data on banking activities only going back to Sept. 30, 2009. Prior to that date, information should only be provided “if there is a violation of US legislation or obvious tax fraud,” the newspaper said.
INTERNET
AOL shares drop 5 percent
AOL shares shed 5 percent on Wall Street on Friday amid reports the Internet company had reached out to Yahoo about a potential merger. Bloomberg news agency reported that AOL chief executive Tim Armstrong is in talks with advisers to Yahoo following the firing this week of Yahoo chief executive Carol Bartz, who rebuffed a previous approach. Citing “people familiar with the matter,” Bloomberg said Armstrong has talked with private equity firms and investment bankers from Allen & Co working with Yahoo. AOL shares lost 5.28 percent in New York to close at US$14.72.
GREECE
Police out in case of riots
About 5,000 police were being deployed in Thessaloniki in case of riots at anti--austerity protests ahead of Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou’s annual speech on the economy. At least seven separate marches had been called for yesterday afternoon in Greece’s second-largest city. Organizers include the barely-solvent country’s two biggest labor unions, students, anarchists, taxi drivers and others. Previous anti-austerity protests have triggered riots.
TECH TITANS: Amazon’s latest chip joins Google in competing for the 90 percent market share held by Nvidia, which claims it is ‘a generation ahead of the industry’ Amazon Web Services (AWS) on Tuesday launched its in-house-built Trainium3 artificial intelligence (AI) chip, marking a significant push to compete with Nvidia Corp in the lucrative market for AI computing power. The move intensifies competition in the AI chip market, where Nvidia dominates with an estimated 80 to 90 percent market share for products used in training large language models that power the likes of ChatGPT. Google last week caused tremors in the industry when it was reported that Facebook-parent Meta Platforms Inc would employ Google AI chips in data centers, signaling new competition for Nvidia. This followed the release last month of
INSULATED: The company said it is less exposed to global complications, as it has built a strong footprint worldwide, and has multiple sources of rare earths and raw minerals Merck Group yesterday said it would ramp up production next year at its new flagship facility in Kaohsiung’s Lujhu District (路竹) to satisfy growing demand for advanced semiconductor materials and specialty gases, and to address supply resilience issues amid mounting geopolitical risks. Merck made the remarks during a news conference before the inauguration of its 500 million euros (US$582.1 million) facility, which is also to supply other markets in the Asia-Pacific region, it said. Merck executive board deputy chair and electronics CEO Kai Beckmann told reporters the company adopted a “local-for-local” strategy about seven years ago to address the cycle time of
Two companies wholly owned by the daughter of the founder of Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) on Monday reported to the Taiwan Stock Exchange that they would dispose of all of the Hon Hai shares they hold. In filings with the exchange, Hong Wei Investment Co (鋐維) said it would sell the 2.771 million Hon Hai shares it holds and Frontier Investment Corp (承鋒投資) said it would sell its 2.409 million Hon Hai shares from tomorrow until Jan. 3 next year. The two companies are wholly owned and chaired by Shirley Gou (郭曉玲), the eldest daughter of Hon Hai founder Terry
RIDING THE WAVE: The race to build AI infrastructure has lifted the valuations of top memory makers, such as Micron, amid dwindling inventories and supply challenges Micron Technology Inc is to spend ￥1.5 trillion (US$9.6 billion) to build a plant in western Japan to make memory chips for artificial intelligence (AI) applications, the Nikkei reported on Saturday. The move comes as Micron seeks to diversify advanced chip production outside of Taiwan, the Nikkei article said, citing people familiar with the matter. The new factory will manufacture high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips, a key component for working with AI processors such as those made by Nvidia Corp, the report said. Micron would build the facility within the compound of its Hiroshima plant, starting in May next year, with plans to launch
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