TECHNOLOGY
TI to cut 1,700 jobs
Chipmaker Texas Instruments Inc (TI) said on Wednesday that it would eliminate about 1,700 jobs as it trims spending on its wireless business. The cuts will reduce TI’s staff positions by almost 5 percent. The company expects the job cuts and other changes will save about US$450 million per year by the end of next year. The Dallas company will take US$325 million in one-time charges connected to the moves. Most will come in the current quarter. The company had 34,759 employees at the end of last year.
COMMODITIES
GrainCorp rejects buyout
Australian agribusiness GrainCorp yesterday rejected a A$2.68 billion (US$2.78 billion) all-cash takeover offer from US food giant Archer Daniels Midland (ADM), holding out for more money. Leading agricultural commodities trader ADM made its indicative and non-binding bid last month, saying it was prepared to pay A$11.75 for each GrainCorp share. In response, the Australian firm said it had decided that the ADM offer was not enough, undervaluing its assets and competitive advantages in handling and processing wheat, barley and canola.
BANKING
China’s bad loans climb
Chinese banks’ bad loans increased for a fourth straight quarter, the longest streak of deterioration since the data became available in 2004, highlighting pressures on profit growth as the economy weakens. Non-performing loans rose by 22.4 billion yuan (US$3.6 billion) in the three months ended Sept. 30 to 478.8 billion yuan, the China Banking Regulatory Commission said in a statement yesterday. Bad loans increased at all types of institutions, including state-owned lenders, rural banks and foreign banks, it said.
UNITED KINGDOM
Moody’s reviewing rating
Moody’s announced on Wednesday that it would review Britain’s “Aaa” rating early next year, saying the country’s strengths were challenged by weak growth and the eurozone crisis. In its yearly credit report on Britain, the agency said its review would hinge in part on the government’s upcoming Autumn Statement, its mid-term economic review. In February, Moody’s issued a negative outlook for the sovereign rating, a warning that Britain’s triple-A grade could be lowered in the medium term.
FINANCE
Fed mulls new stimulus
The US Federal Reserve is mulling additional asset purchases next year to boost jobs amid a fragile economy, the minutes of a policy meeting released on Wednesday showed. With the current US$45 billion a month “Operation Twist” asset adjustment program scheduled to end next month, the minutes suggested that the Fed was ready to go ahead with more outright bond purchases, aimed at pushing long-term interest rates lower.
AUTOMAKERS
Opel, Peugeot deal dropped
General Motors (GM) has scrapped plans to merge its troubled German unit Opel with PSA Peugeot Citroen because of the French carmaker’s financial woes, a news report said on Wednesday. “GM gave up in early November on the merger plan between Opel and PSA Peugeot Citroen’s auto division,” French financial newspaper La Tribune said, citing “a well-informed French source.” Instead of a merger, the carmakers would pursue a more limited partnership in four specific areas, which they had already announced on Oct. 24, La Tribune said.
SEMICONDUCTORS: The German laser and plasma generator company will expand its local services as its specialized offerings support Taiwan’s semiconductor industries Trumpf SE + Co KG, a global leader in supplying laser technology and plasma generators used in chip production, is expanding its investments in Taiwan in an effort to deeply integrate into the global semiconductor supply chain in the pursuit of growth. The company, headquartered in Ditzingen, Germany, has invested significantly in a newly inaugurated regional technical center for plasma generators in Taoyuan, its latest expansion in Taiwan after being engaged in various industries for more than 25 years. The center, the first of its kind Trumpf built outside Germany, aims to serve customers from Taiwan, Japan, Southeast Asia and South Korea,
Gasoline and diesel prices at domestic fuel stations are to fall NT$0.2 per liter this week, down for a second consecutive week, CPC Corp, Taiwan (台灣中油) and Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) announced yesterday. Effective today, gasoline prices at CPC and Formosa stations are to drop to NT$26.4, NT$27.9 and NT$29.9 per liter for 92, 95 and 98-octane unleaded gasoline respectively, the companies said in separate statements. The price of premium diesel is to fall to NT$24.8 per liter at CPC stations and NT$24.6 at Formosa pumps, they said. The price adjustments came even as international crude oil prices rose last week, as traders
SIZE MATTERS: TSMC started phasing out 8-inch wafer production last year, while Samsung is more aggressively retiring 8-inch capacity, TrendForce said Chipmakers are expected to raise prices of 8-inch wafers by up to 20 percent this year on concern over supply constraints as major contract chipmakers Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and Samsung Electronics Co gradually retire less advanced wafer capacity, TrendForce Corp (集邦科技) said yesterday. It is the first significant across-the-board price hike since a global semiconductor correction in 2023, the Taipei-based market researcher said in a report. Global 8-inch wafer capacity slid 0.3 percent year-on-year last year, although 8-inch wafer prices still hovered at relatively stable levels throughout the year, TrendForce said. The downward trend is expected to continue this year,
POWERING UP: PSUs for AI servers made up about 50% of Delta’s total server PSU revenue during the first three quarters of last year, the company said Power supply and electronic components maker Delta Electronics Inc (台達電) reported record-high revenue of NT$161.61 billion (US$5.11 billion) for last quarter and said it remains positive about this quarter. Last quarter’s figure was up 7.6 percent from the previous quarter and 41.51 percent higher than a year earlier, and largely in line with Yuanta Securities Investment Consulting Co’s (元大投顧) forecast of NT$160 billion. Delta’s annual revenue last year rose 31.76 percent year-on-year to NT$554.89 billion, also a record high for the company. Its strong performance reflected continued demand for high-performance power solutions and advanced liquid-cooling products used in artificial intelligence (AI) data centers,
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