ELECTRONICS
Samsung to boost handsets
Samsung Electronics Co, the world’s second-largest handset maker, said it aims to double sales of smartphones and tablet computers this year with a wider range of Galaxy-branded devices, intensifying competition with Apple Inc. Samsung, which shipped about 97 million smartphones last year, plans to introduce a successor to the Galaxy S II in the first half of the year and other models later, the company said in an e-mailed statement yesterday. Samsung sold a record 300 million handsets, including basic models last year, helped by the popularity of its Galaxy products that run Google Inc’s Android software. The company expects to sell about 380 million handsets this year, J.K. Shin, head of the mobile business, said in Barcelona, Spain, on Sunday.
CAMERAS
Olympus names president
Scandal-hit Olympus yesterday named current board member and executive officer Hiroyuki Sasa as its new president after one of the biggest financial scandals in Japanese corporate history. Olympus plans to hold an extraordinary general meeting on April 20, at which shareholders will be asked to approve the new 11-member management board, which includes eight people from outside the company. The firm nominated former Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp senior managing director Yasuyuki Kimoto as its next chairman and former executive of the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ Hideaki Fujizuka as a director. Three current board members, including Sasa, were nominated to lead the company, while six other outside directors were also appointed to the task of rebuilding the under-fire camera and medical equipment maker.
STEEL
Severstal to invest in Russia
OAO Severstal, Russia’s second-largest steel producer by volume, plans to invest US$1.7 billion this year in its factories and mines in Russia and the US to boost output. Sevestal plans capital expenditures of US$905 million in its Russian steel operations and US$659 million on its mining units, including new projects in Liberia and Brazil, it said in a statement yesterday. Another US$104 million is earmarked for improving its US operations.
MATERIALS
Cookson’s profits rise 18%
British industrial materials group Cookson yesterday reported profit for last year above market estimates helped by strength at its two core divisions and signaled further growth this year. Cookson, whose products are used in the glass and solar industries as well as by steelmakers and foundries, said full-year pretax profit rose 18 percent to ￡261.5 million (US$414.6 million), beating consensus estimates of ￡250.8 million. Sales rose 11 percent to ￡2.83 billion, in line with estimates. Sales at the company’s engineered ceramics unit were up 13 percent, while revenue at Cookson’s performance materials unit was up 13 percent. The two units together account for nearly 90 percent of group sales.
ENERGY
Essar’s earnings fall 10%
India-focused refiner and power generator Essar Energy said core earnings fell 10 percent last year, falling short of forecasts due to weaker refining margins and depreciation of the Indian rupee in the second half of the year. It posted full-year earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization of US$624.8 million. That compared with US$696.5 million in 2010 and the US$685 million average of 10 analysts’ forecasts supplied by the company.
DIVIDED VIEWS: Although the Fed agreed on holding rates steady, some officials see no rate cuts for this year, while 10 policymakers foresee two or more cuts There are a lot of unknowns about the outlook for the economy and interest rates, but US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell signaled at least one thing seems certain: Higher prices are coming. Fed policymakers voted unanimously to hold interest rates steady at a range of 4.25 percent to 4.50 percent for a fourth straight meeting on Wednesday, as they await clarity on whether tariffs would leave a one-time or more lasting mark on inflation. Powell said it is still unclear how much of the bill would fall on the shoulders of consumers, but he expects to learn more about tariffs
Meta Platforms Inc offered US$100 million bonuses to OpenAI employees in an unsuccessful bid to poach the ChatGPT maker’s talent and strengthen its own generative artificial intelligence (AI) teams, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has said. Facebook’s parent company — a competitor of OpenAI — also offered “giant” annual salaries exceeding US$100 million to OpenAI staffers, Altman said in an interview on the Uncapped with Jack Altman podcast released on Tuesday. “It is crazy,” Sam Altman told his brother Jack in the interview. “I’m really happy that at least so far none of our best people have decided to take them
NOT JUSTIFIED: The bank’s governor said there would only be a rate cut if inflation falls below 1.5% and economic conditions deteriorate, which have not been detected The central bank yesterday kept its key interest rates unchanged for a fifth consecutive quarter, aligning with market expectations, while slightly lowering its inflation outlook amid signs of cooling price pressures. The move came after the US Federal Reserve held rates steady overnight, despite pressure from US President Donald Trump to cut borrowing costs. Central bank board members unanimously voted to maintain the discount rate at 2 percent, the secured loan rate at 2.375 percent and the overnight lending rate at 4.25 percent. “We consider the policy decision appropriate, although it suggests tightening leaning after factoring in slackening inflation and stable GDP growth,”
PLANS: MSI is also planning to upgrade its service center in the Netherlands Micro-Star International Co (MSI, 微星) yesterday said it plans to set up a server assembly line at its Poland service center this year at the earliest. The computer and peripherals manufacturer expects that the new server assembly line would shorten transportation times in shipments to European countries, a company spokesperson told the Taipei Times by telephone. MSI manufactures motherboards, graphics cards, notebook computers, servers, optical storage devices and communication devices. The company operates plants in Taiwan and China, and runs a global network of service centers. The company is also considering upgrading its service center in the Netherlands into a
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