COLOMBIA
Farmers persist with strike
The government raised a subsidy to coffee farmers on Saturday and called for them to end a strike, but farm leaders said they would continue protesting and blocking roads because they want buyers to pay a minimum price for beans. Coffee growers in the nation, the world’s top producer of high-quality Arabica beans, are demanding more help from the government after being hit by years of poor weather, crop disease and a strong currency. The government has offered to increase a subsidy to 115,000 pesos (US$63.41) from 60,000 pesos previously paid for a 125kg sack of parchment coffee for small producers when the internal coffee price is below 650,000 pesos. The subsidy also increases to 95,000 pesos, from 60,000 previously, for big land owners.
JAPAN
Weaker yen helps exports
The nation’s exporters expect to be profitable as a weaker currency helps boost the yen value of their overseas earnings, according to a survey of companies released by the Cabinet Office. Shipments will yield profit if the exchange rate averages ¥83.9 against the US dollar, according to the survey of 2,374 companies in January. The yen will probably trade at ¥88.4 per US dollar in one year’s time, according to the average expectation of companies in the survey. The numbers compare with a forecast of profitability at ¥82 versus an expected exchange rate of ¥80.3 in a similar survey a year earlier. Toyota Motor Corp, Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd, the maker of Subaru cars, and Nintendo Co have all raised their profit forecasts for the fiscal year that ends this month as the weaker yen boosts overseas sales when earnings are repatriated.
AUTOMAKERS
EU car sales plummet
Plunging prices and over-capacity will again this year cast a shadow over the Geneva International Motor Show, which begins this week, but plenty of luxury racing dreams should still be prominently on display. The European auto industry got off to a bad start in January, when new car registrations in the EU plummeted to their lowest level since 1990 after an already catastrophic previous year. Only 12 million cars were sold last year — the lowest number since 1995. Switzerland, the host of what is one of the auto industry’s biggest events, is a rare bright spot on the crisis-hit continent. The Swiss, who do not belong to the EU, saw new car registrations jump 2.4 percent last year from an already record year in 2011, with 431,000 new registrations. Stefan Bratzel, a German car industry analyst, expects to see sales across Europe slip 5 percent this year and predicts that the mood in Geneva will be jaded.
TECHNOLOGY
Evernote reports hacking
Evernote, a Web-based note-sharing service, said it was resetting the passwords of its 50 million users because hackers managed to breach its computer network and access some usernames, e-mail addresses and encrypted passwords. Evernote spokeswoman Ronda Scott said via e-mail on Saturday that the attack “follows a similar pattern” to other cyberattacks on Internet-based companies in recent weeks, but did not elaborate. Scott declined to say how many accounts had been exposed or whether it might be possible for the hackers to unscramble encrypted passwords. A series of technology companies including Facebook Inc, Apple Inc, Microsoft Corp and Twitter, have recently disclosed cyberattacks.
Three experts in the high technology industry have said that US President Donald Trump’s pledge to impose higher tariffs on Taiwanese semiconductors is part of an effort to force Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) to the negotiating table. In a speech to Republicans on Jan. 27, Trump said he intends to impose tariffs on Taiwan to bring chip production to the US. “The incentive is going to be they’re not going to want to pay a 25, 50 or even a 100 percent tax,” he said. Darson Chiu (邱達生), an economics professor at Taichung-based Tunghai University and director-general of
‘LEGACY CHIPS’: Chinese companies have dramatically increased mature chip production capacity, but the West’s drive for secure supply chains offers a lifeline for Taiwan When Powerchip Technology Corp (力晶科技) entered a deal with the eastern Chinese city of Hefei in 2015 to set up a new chip foundry, it hoped the move would help provide better access to the promising Chinese market. However, nine years later, that Chinese foundry, Nexchip Semiconductor Corp (合晶集成), has become one of its biggest rivals in the legacy chip space, leveraging steep discounts after Beijing’s localization call forced Powerchip to give up the once-lucrative business making integrated circuits for Chinese flat panels. Nexchip is among Chinese foundries quickly winning market share in the crucial US$56.3 billion industry of so-called legacy
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday held its first board of directors meeting in the US, at which it did not unveil any new US investments despite mounting tariff threats from US President Donald Trump. Trump has threatened to impose 100 percent tariffs on Taiwan-made chips, prompting market speculation that TSMC might consider boosting its chip capacity in the US or ramping up production of advanced chips such as those using a 2-nanometer technology process at its Arizona fabs ahead of schedule. Speculation also swirled that the chipmaker might consider building its own advanced packaging capacity in the US as part
A move by US President Donald Trump to slap a 25 percent tariff on all steel imports is expected to place Taiwan-made steel, which already has a 25 percent tariff, on an equal footing, the Taiwan Steel & Iron Industries Association said yesterday. Speaking with CNA, association chairman Hwang Chien-chih (黃建智) said such an equal footing is expected to boost Taiwan’s competitive edge against other countries in the US market, describing the tariffs as "positive" for Taiwanese steel exporters. On Monday, Trump signed two executive orders imposing the new metal tariffs on imported steel and aluminum with no exceptions and exemptions, effective