UNITED STATES
Overseas tax rules published
The Treasury published final rules on Thursday for a new global tax enforcement regime targeting the assets of US taxpayers abroad. The announcement finishes the rule-writing process for the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act which Congress passed in March 2010. The final rules spare certain foreign pension funds and mutual funds information-reporting requirements. The Treasury rejected a request by businesses, banks and foreign investment funds to delay a start date of January next year for big penalties imposed on individuals and financial firms that do not comply with the law.
STEELMAKERS
China steel output up 3.1%
China, which produces almost half the world’s steel, boosted production by 3.1 percent last year as economic expansion spurred demand for roads and railways. Steel output increased to 716.5 million tonnes last year, the National Bureau of Statistics said yesterday. Production climbed 7.7 percent last month from a year earlier to 57.66 million tonnes, the bureau said. It is the 31st annual increase in steel production. China will spend 650 billion yuan (US$105 billion) this year on railway construction, more than the 631 billion spent last year, the Xinhua news agency said on Thursday.
FINANCe
Amex income drops 47%
American Express (Amex) says its net income fell 47 percent in the fourth quarter last year, as the credit card issuer racked up hefty charges related to restructuring costs and other one-time expenses. The New York-based company said on Thursday that it posted net income of US$637 million, or US$0.56 per share, for the three months ended Dec. 31 last year. That compares with net income of US$1.2 billion, or US$1.01 per share, in the same period last year.
BANKING
Barclays mulls fine payment
British bank Barclays PLC is considering using its bonus pool for last year to help pay fines for its role in LIBOR interest rate rigging, the Financial Times reported. The bank might recoup part or all of the ￡290 million (US$465 million) it was fined from the bonuses it pays investment bankers, the paper said, without citing sources. Part state-owned Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC is already preparing to slash bonuses to help pay for its LIBOR-related fines, according to a source. Barclays is currently finalizing bonuses for last year and overall compensation is expected to fall between 10 percent and 20 percent on average, two sources said earlier this week.
BANKING
Commerzbank may cut jobs
Commerzbank, Germany’s second-biggest bank, is likely to propose next month cutting as many as 6,000 jobs, about 18 percent of the workforce, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday, citing sources. Different sources told the business daily the cuts could range from 5,000 to 6,000 workers, but the bank declined to comment on numbers. The jobs cut proposal is likely to be made in talks with unions due to begin next month.
RETAIL
Procter & Gamble to cut jobs
Procter & Gamble is cutting about 150 jobs in Spain and Portugal following the decision to integrate hygiene company Arbora & Ausonia into its existing operations. P&G acquired 100 percent of the firm last year after food company Agrolimen sold its 50 percent stake in the firm.
Shares of contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) came under pressure yesterday after a report that Apple Inc is looking to shift some orders from the Taiwanese company to Intel Corp. TSMC shares fell NT$55, or 2.4 percent, to close at NT$2,235 on the local main board, Taiwan Stock Exchange data showed. Despite the losses, TSMC is expected to continue to benefit from sound fundamentals, as it maintains a lead over its peers in high-end process development, analysts said. “The selling was a knee-jerk reaction to an Intel-Apple report over the weekend,” Mega International Investment Services Corp (兆豐國際投顧) analyst Alex Huang
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) is expected to remain Apple Inc’s primary chip manufacturing partner despite reports that Apple could shift some orders to Intel Corp, industry experts said yesterday. The comments came after The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday that Apple and Intel had reached a preliminary agreement following more than a year of negotiations for Intel to manufacture some chips for Apple devices. Taiwan Institute of Economic Research (台灣經濟研究院) economist Arisa Liu (劉佩真) said TSMC’s advanced packaging technologies, including integrated fan-out and chip-on-wafer-on-substrate, remain critical to the performance of Apple’s A-series and M-series chips. She said Intel and Samsung
POWER BUILDUP: Powered by Nvidia’s B200 Blackwell chips, the data center would support MediaTek’s computing power demand and business growth, the company said Smartphone chip designer MediaTek Inc (聯發科) yesterday launched a new artificial intelligence (AI) data center with a maximum capacity of 45 megawatts to meet its rising demand for computing power required to develop new advanced chips for AI applications. The company has completed the first-phase computing power buildup at the data center in Miaoli County’s Tongluo Township (銅鑼), providing 15 megawatts of capacity to support its research and development (R&D) capabilities, despite an industrywide shortage of key components, MediaTek said. Supply constraints have plagued a wide range of key components, including memory chips, solid-state drives, power supply units and central
TRANSITION: With the closure, the company would reorganize its Taiwanese unit to a sales and service-focused model, Bridgestone said Bridgestone Corp yesterday announced it would cease manufacturing operations at its tire plant in Hsinchu County’s Hukou Township (湖口), affecting more than 500 workers. Bridgestone Taiwan Co (台灣普利司通) said in a statement that the decision was based on the Tokyo-based tire maker’s adjustments to its global operational strategy and long-term market development considerations. The Taiwanese unit would be reorganized as part of the closure, effective yesterday, and all related production activities would be concluded, the statement said. Under the plan, Bridgestone would continue to deepen its presence in the Taiwanese market, while transitioning to a sales and service-focused business model, it added. The Hsinchu
RSS